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PROCEEDINGS 


OF    THE 


AMERICAN   ACADEMY  OF  ARTS  AND   SCIENCES. 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF   THE 


AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


OF 


ARTS  AND    SCIENCES. 


NEW    SERIES. 
Vol.   XV. 

WHOLE     SERIES. 
Vol.  XXIII. 


FROM    MAY,  1887,  TO    MAY,   1888. 


SELECTED    FROM    THE    RECORDS. 


BOSTON: 
UNIVERSITY  PRESS:  JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON. 

1888. 


xS(o  ^ 


CONTENTS. 


Page 
I.     Oxygen  in  the  Sun.      By  John   Trowbridge   and   C.  C. 

HUTCHINS 1 

II.  On  the  Existence  of  Carbon  in  the  Sun.  By  John  Trow- 
bridge  AND    C.    C.    HUTCHINS 10 

III.  On  the  Existence  of  certain  Elements,  together  icith  the  Dis- 

covery of  Platinum,  in  the  Sun.       By  C.   C.  Hutchins 

AND    E.    L.    HOLDEN 14 

IV.  The  Action  of  Fluoride  of  Silicon  on  Organic  Bases.      By 

Arthur  M.  Comey  and  C.  Loring  Jackson    ...      20 

V.  Catalogue  of  all  Recorded  Meteorites.      By  Oliver  Whipple 

Huntington,  Ph.  D 37 

VI.     On  the  Structure  of   the  Frond  in   Champia  parvula,  Harv. 

By  Robert  Payne  Bigelow Ill 

VII.     Silicotetrafluorides  of  Certain  Bases.    By  Arthur  M.  Comey 

and  F.  W.  Smith 122 

VIII.     An  Empirical  Ride  for  Constructing  Telephone  Circuits.     By 

William  W.  Jacques 125 

IX.     On  Tribromtrinitrooenzol.       By    C.    Loring  Jackson    and 

John  F.  Wing 138 

X.  The  Relative  Values  of  the  Atomic  Weights  of  Hydrogen  and 
Oxygen.  By  Josiah  Parsons  Cooke  and  Theodore 
William  Richards 149 


VI  CONTENTS. 

XI.     Further  Investigation  on  the  Atomic  Weight  of  Copper.     By 

Theodore  William  Richards 177 

XII.  Additional  Note  on  the  Relative  Values  of  the  Atomic  Weights 
of  Hydrogen  and  Oxygen.  By  Josiah  Parsons  Cooke 
and  Theodore  William  Richards 182 

XIII.  On    Substituted    Pyromucic   Acids.      Second   Paper.      By 

Henry  B.  Hill  and  Arthur  W.  Palmer   .  .  .  188 

XIV.  Contributions  to  American  Botany.     By  Asa  Gray  .     .     .     223 

XV.     Experiments  on  the  Blake  Microphone  Contact.    By  George 

W.  Patterson,  Jr 228 

XVI.  Boiling  Points  of  Naphthaline,  Benzophenone,  and  Benzol 
under  controlled  Pressures,  ivith  special  Reference  to  Ther- 
mometry.    By  S.  W.  Holman  and   W.  H.  Gleason    237 

XVII.     Contributions  to  American  Botany.     By  Sereno  Watson     249 

XVIII.      Wave-Lengths  of  Metallic  Spectra  in  the   Ultra  Violet.    By 

John  Trowbridge  and  W.  C.  Sabine 288 

XIX.     Selective  Absorption  of  Metals  for   Ultra   Violet  Light.     By 

John  Trowbridge  and  W.  C.  Sabine 299 

XX.     Photography  of  the  Least  Refrangible  Portion  of  the  Solar 

Spectrum.     By  J.   C.  B.  Burbank 301 

Proceedings 305 

Memoirs  :  — 

Alvan  Clark 315 

Charles  Smith  Bradley #.     .  317 

John  Dean 319 

Asa  Gray 321 

Laurens  Perseus  Hickock 343 

Mark  Hopkins 314 

Charles  Eliot  Ware 346 

Spencer  Fullerton  Baird 347 

Samuel  Gilman  Brown 348 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

Matthew  Arnold 349 

Georg  Curtius 354 

August  Wilhelm  Eichler 355 

Henry  James  Sumner  Maine 356 

Hugh  Andrew  Johnstone  Munro 365 

Gustav  Robert  Kirchhoff 370 

Balfour  Stewart 375 

Bernhard  Studer 377 


List  of  the  Fellows  and  Foreign  Honorary  Members  .     .     381 
Ixdex 389 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF  THE 


AMERICAN     ACADEMY 

OP 

ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 

VOL.  XXIII. 
PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  THE  ACADEMY. 


Investigations  on  Light  and  Heat,  made  and  published  wholly  or  in  part  with 
Appropriation  from  the  Rumford  Fund. 


I. 

CONTRIBUTIONS  FROM  THE  PHYSICAL  LABORATORY  OF 
HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

OXYGEN  IN  THE   SUN. 

By  John  Trowbridge  and  C.  C.  Hutchins. 

Presented  March  9,  1887. 

Since  the  time  when  it  was  announced  that  hydrogen  existed  in 
great  abundance  in  the  sun's  atmosphere  and  was  a  controlling  element 
in  its  economy,  there  have  been  no  more  interesting  questions  in  solar 
physics  than  those  touching  the  presence  of  other  gases  in  the  sun's 
body  and  atmosphere ;  and  when  we  consider  the  important  part 
that  oxygen  plays  in  terrestrial  affairs,  the  great  variety  of  combina- 
tions into  which  it  enters,  and  its  high  constituent  percentage  in  the 
composition  of  the  earth  itself,  a  peculiar  interest,  second  to  that  of  no 
other  element  perhaps,  attaches  to  its  probable  presence  in  the  sun. 

The  investigation  of  the  spectrum  of  oxygen  as  a  research  by  itself, 
and  as  connected  with  its  presence  in  the  sun,  has  occupied  many  emi- 
nent physicists ;  but  the  fact  that  the  latest  and  most  complete  inves- 
tigations have  left  the  minds  of  scientific  men  still  in  doubt  has 
led  the  writers  to  take  up  the  question  again  with  more  perfect  and 
powerful  apparatus  and  increased  facilities,  in  order  if  possible  to 
add  something  to  the  knowledge  of  the  subject. 
vol.  xxiii.  (n.  s.  xv.)  1 


2  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

The  question  of  the  existence  of  oxygen  in  the  sun  was  first  seri- 
ously investigated,  we  believe,  by  Dr.  Henry  Draper,  who  published 
in  the  American  Journal  of  Science  for  1877  and  1879,  and  in  foreign 
journals,  papers  accompanied  by  reproductions  of  his  photographs. 
Dr.  Draper  was  firmly  persuaded  of  the  existence  of  oxygen  in  the 
sun's  atmosphere,  and  based  this  belief  upon  the  apparent  coincidence 
of  the  lines  of  oxygen  taken  in  air  with  certain  bright  spaces  in  the 
sun's  spectrum  which  appeared  upon  his  photographs. 

Prof.  John  Christopher  Draper  published  a  paper  in  the  Ameri- 
can Journal  of  Science  for  1878,  in  which  he  stated  his  conviction  that 
oxygen  exists  in  the  sun;  but  his  line  of  argument  was  just  the 
reverse  of  that  of  Dr.  H.  Draper.  While  the  latter  apparently  proved 
the  existence  of  oxygen  in  the  sun  by  the  coincidence  of  its  bright 
lines  with  bright  spaces  in  the  solar  spectrum,  the  former  was  led  to 
believe  that  the  bright  oxygen  lines  coincided  with  dark  lines  in 
the  sun. 

Both  observers  abandoned  the  old  method  of  eye  observation,  and 
took  advantage  of  the  improvements  in  photography  to  record  the 
oxygen  lines  upon  a  sensitive  plate.  Dr.  H.  Draper  was  led  to  aban- 
don Geisler's  tubes  filled  with  oxygen,  and  to  employ  the  electric 
spark  in  common  air,  on  account  of  the  greater  brilliancy  of  the  lines, 
while  Prof.  J.  C.  Draper  still  adhered  to  tubes  filled  with  rarefied 
oxygen.  The  oxygen  liues  had  been  mapped  by  previous  observers, 
notably  by  Thaleu,  and  Schuster  had  shown  that  there  were  four 
spectra  of  oxygen  which  could  be  produced  under  varying  conditions 
of  temperature  and  pressure. 

The  photographs  of  Dr.  Henry  Draper's  oxygen  spectrum,  together 
with  the  juxtaposed  solar  spectrum,  were  submitted  to  the  French 
Academy  of  Sciences  in  Paris,  June  23,  1879,  by  M.  Cornu.  From 
the  remarks  of  M.  Faye  we  make  the  following  extract :  — 

"  Dr.  H.  Draper  has,  however,  succeeded  in  discovering  oxygen, 
not  in  the  chromosphere,  but  in  the  photosphere,  where  it  discloses 
itself  by  bright  lines.  It  is  obvious  that  this  gas  is  dissociated  at  a 
depth,  and  is  immediately  taken  up  by  multiple  combinations  in  the 
region  and  at  the  temperature  of  the  brilliant  surface.  I  see  in  these 
facts  the  hope  of  a  confirmation,  and  above  all  of  an  extension,  of 
the  views  I  have  put  forth  on  the  constitution  of  the  sun  ;  but  what- 
ever may  be  the  fate  that  the  progress  of  spectrum  analysis  reserves 
to  them,  I  express  here  my  admiration  for  the  discovery  of  Mr. 
Draper,  and  I  hope  that  his  results,  so  well  confirmed  by  the  photo- 
graphic proofs  that  our  learned  member,  M.  Cornu,  has  shown  the 


OF   ARTS    AND    SCIENCES.  3 

Academy,  will  not  delay  in  being  universally  accepted  by  competent 
judges." 

The  opinion  thus  expressed  by  so  eminent  an  authority  as  M. 
Faye  testifies  to  the  strength  of  the  evidence  brought  forward  by 
Dr.  Draper.  With  the  exception  of  Prof.  John  C.  Draper,  physicists, 
in  so  far  as  they  have  expressed  their  views,  have  generally  accepted 
the  hypothesis  of  Dr.  Draper.  No  one,  to  our  knowledge,  has  crit- 
ically examined  the  hypothesis  of  bright  lines  in  the  solar  spectrum. 

The  reader  of  Dr.  H.  Draper's  account  of  his  experiments  will 
remember  the  difficulties  he  encountered  in  obtaining  an  air  spectrum 
of  sufficient  brightness  to  record  itself  upon  the  photographic  plate. 
The  time  that  has  elapsed  since  his  work  does  not  seem  to  have 
made  those  difficulties  less,  and,  in  spite  of  all  our  ingenuity  has  been 
able  to  devise,  we  have  been  practically  confined  to  taking  the  spark 
in  free  air  or  oxygen  at  atmospheric  pressure,  notwithstanding  the 
broad  and  hazy  character  of  the  lines  under  these  conditions. 

Not  to  record  a  long  list  of  failures  extending  over  several  months, 
we  will  briefly  describe  the  arrangements  in  their  final  form. 

An  alternating  current  dynamo  driven  at  2,000  revolutions  per  min- 
ute is  connected  to  a  commutator  of  four  segments  upon  a  fixed  spindle, 
around  which  revolve  two  pairs  of  brushes.  The  result  of  this  com- 
bination is  that  the  current  is  very  frequently  and  sharply  interrupted. 
This  interrupted  current  is  used  to  excite  three  large  quantity  coils 
connected  in  series.  From  two  to  twelve  jars  were  employed  as  a  con- 
denser to  the  secondary  current.  The  spark  was  taken  between  two 
stout  rods  of  aluminium  placed  immediately  in  front  of  the  slit,  and 
the  spark  passed  between  them  with  a  deafening  rattle,  and  gave  about 
the  light  of  two  candles.  We  tried  Dr.  Draper's  device  of  a  soapstone 
compressor  for  the  spark,  but  in  our  hands  the  walls  of  the  soapstone 
near  the  spark  melted  down,  and  formed  a  conducting  surface  over 
which  the  current  passed. 

The  photographic  apparatus  is  the  large  instrument  of  Professor 
Rowland,  —  a  concave  grating  with  ruled  surface  6x2  inches,  mounted 
upon  an  iron  girder  23  feet  long,  moving  upon  two  tracks  at  right 
angles,  as  has  been  previously  described  by  him  and  others.  Sunlight 
is  introduced  by  a  heliostat  with  mirror  silvered  on  first  surface,  and 
an  image  of  the  sun  formed  on  the  slit  by  means  of  a  quartz  lens 
of  five  feet  focus.  The  method  of  working  with  the  apparatus  so 
arranged  has  been  as  follows. 

The  points  of  aluminium  being  permanently  fixed  in  front  of  the 
slit,  sunlight  is  introduced,  the  camera  brought  to  focus  once  for  all, 


4  PROCEEDINGS    OP   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

and  set  to  any  required  wave-length  upon  a  convenient  scale.  The 
photographic  plate  is  then  placed  in  the  camera,  and  a  shutter  imme- 
diately in  front  is  set  to  expose  the  upper  half  of  the  plate.  Expos- 
ure for  the  sun  is  then  made  ;  the  sunlight  is  then  cut  out,  and  the 
shutter  moved  to  cover  that  part  of  the  plate  already  exposed,  and 
the  lower  half  exposed.  The  spark  is  then  started  and  worked  from 
15  to  30  minutes.  In  addition  to  the  spectrum  of  lines  there  is  a  con- 
siderable continuous  spectrum,  which  after  a  time  causes  fogging  of 
the  plates ;  so  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  gain  in  an  exposure  of 
more  than  half  an  hour.  The  feebleness  of  the  air  lines  can  be 
judged  of  when  we  state  that,  with  the  same  plate,  breadth  of  slit, 
etc.,  we  get  a  metallic  spectrum  in  the  arc  in  ten  seconds,  strongly 
photographed.  There  was  sufficient  iron  present  in  the  electrodes  as 
impurity  to  give  the  strongest  iron  lines  feebly,  and  these  have  been 
of  use  in  determining  that  no  displacement  had  happened,  although 
from  the  nature  of  the  arrangements  such  disturbance  could  hardly 
occur. 

On  the  negative  produced  as  above  indicated  the  two  spectra  lie 
exactly  edge  to  edge,  like  a  vernier  and  scale,  and  are  in  the  best 
possible  position  for  the  accurate  determination  of  the  position  of 
the  air  lines.  The  original  plan  contemplated  a  determination  of 
wave-lengths  of  all  the  air  lines  throughout  the  entire  spectrum ;  but 
persistently  bad  weather  and  other  causes  have  compelled  the  post- 
ponement of  the  completion  of  this  work,  though  v?^  are  now  able  to 
give  it  complete  from  wave-length  3740  to  wave-length  5030. 

The  photographic  map  of  the  solar  spectrum  of  Professor  Rowland 
has  made  easy  what  would  otherwise  have  been  an  undertaking  of 
extreme  labor  and  difficulty.  The  best  of  engraved  maps  of  the  violet 
region  of  the  spectrum  to  beyond  F  are  comparatively  worthless. 
Even  on  the  elaborate  map  of  Vogel,  the  result  of  years  of  labor,  it 
is  difficult  certainly  to  recognize  other  than  the  more  prominent  lines, 
and  you  never  feel  quite  sure  of  your  positions  ;  but  we  turn  to  the 
map  of  Rowland  with  the  certainty  of  finding  every  line  in  its  true 
order  and  magnitude,  so  that  what  was  formerly  most  difficult  has 
now  become  very  simple,  and  the  position  of  any  well-defined  air  or 
metallic  line  can  be  read  directly,  by  comparison  of  the  photograph 
with  the  map,  to  the  tenth  of  a  wave-length. 

We  here  give  a  table  of  wave-lengths  as  determined  from  our  photo- 
graph of  the  sun  and  air  spectra :  — 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


3749.80  Strong,  agrees. 


3830.60 

3830.275 

3842.30 

3843.00 

3850.70 

3857.40 

3863.80 

3864.90 

3882.45 

3893.50 

3894.95 

3896.40 

3896.90 

3900.975 

3902.20 

3906.00 

3912.30 

3919.25 

3935.10 

3936.90 

3938.80 

3939.80 

3940.70 

3941.40 

3942.48 

3946.20 

3948.10 

3949.00 1 

3951.45 

3954.85 

3956.175 

3958.10 

3958.90 

3959.975 

3963.70 

3968.70 

3973.60 

3981.40 

3982.97 

3992.87 

3995.10 

3998.81  { 

4008.39 
4011.34 
4035.34 
4041.39 
4066.84 

4070.24  \ 

4072.34 
4076.19 
4078.83 
4085.24 
4085.84 
4038.64 
4093.09 
4097.49 
4105.04 


Faint  and  broad 
Dim  and  broad. 
Very  faint. 

cc 

Faint. 


Strong. 
Faint. 


Sharp. 
Very  faint. 
Sharp. 

Fairly  strong. 
Strong,  agrees. 
Very  taint. 
Faint. 


Sharp. 

Very  faint. 
Sharp,  may 
agree. 

cc 

Strong. 

Strong  agrees. 
Faint. 

Sharp. 


Strong. 

Faint. 

Sharp,  agrees. 
Very  strong. 
Very  faint,  may 
agree. 

Faint. 
Band. 
Band. 
Faint. 

Strong,   may 
agree. 


Faint,  agrees. 


Faint. 


Strong 


4105.21 

4109.76 

4011.01. 

4112.16 

4119.36 

4120.46 

4121.52 

4121.56 

4123.82 

4132.82 

4133.79 

4145.87 

4147.42 

4151.92 

4153.57 

4155.42 

4156.79 

4164.72 

4166.72 

4169.47 

4172.12 

4175.72 

4177.92 

4179.92 

4185.32 

4190.00 

4193.77 

4198.72 

4199.22 

4202.12 

4205.72 

4206.92 

4209.12 

4214.92 

4223.17 

4224.92 

4225.92 

4228.52 

4236.67 

4241.92 

4249.02 

4253.42 

4266.32 

4271.22 

4274.82 

4277.90 

4279.90 

4282.40 

4291.90 

4303.80 

4305.67 

4309.87 

4312.72 

4315.52 

4317.20 

4319.50 

4322.80  | 

4323.90 
4325.90 
4327.60 
4328.42 


Strong. 
Very  strong. 
Very  faint. 

Fairly  strong. 
Faint. 


Agrees. 
Faint. 


May  agree. 
Faint. 

Faint. 

Agrees. 

Band. 
Very  faint. 
Faint  band. 
Very  strong. 

Very  faint. 

May  agree. 

u 

Very  faint. 

Band. 

Very  faint. 
u 

Faint  on  band. 

a  CC 

it  it 

Band. 


Very  faint. 

Faiiit. 
tt 

Very  faint. 

Faint. 

Fairly  strong. 

Faint. 
tt 

Very  faint. 
a 

Faint  and  sharp. 
u  tt 

a  a 

Strong. 

Faint,   may 

agree. 
Very  faint. 
Agrees. 
Very  faint. 


4330.37 
4331.20 
4332.40 
4336.77 
4345.52 
4347.47 
4347.94 
4349.30 
4351.40 
4353.70 
4356.62 
4362.90 
4365.40 
4366.92 
4369.60 
4371.40 
4379.70 
4381.50 
4385.30 
4385.40 
4386.50 
4396.30 
4401.22 
4415.00 
4417.17 
4421.00 
4426.00 
4430.04 

4431.90  • 

4434.27 
443947 
4443.00 
4447.09 
4452.40 
4456.00 
4459.90 
4465.40 
4466.00 
4468.02 
4469.50 
4472.90 
4477.87 
4481.87 
4487.94 
4489.90 
4496.97 
4498.95 
4503.05 
4507.72 
4511.85 

4520  50  • 

4544.50 

4565.97 
4572.02 
4577.50 
4578.55 
4582.32 
4583.15 
4587.45 
4588.05 


Very  faint. 
tt 

Sharp. 

Strong. 

Faint. 

Strong. 
tt 

it 

a 

Faint. 

Faint. 

Strong. 

Faint. 
a 

a 

a 

Very  faint. 
a 

Nebulous. 
Faint. 

Strong,  agrees. 

a  tt 

Faint. 


Very  broad  dim 

band. 

Sharp. 

Broad  dim  band, 
cc  cc 

Very  strong. 

Sharp. 

Faint  and  sharp. 

Faint. 

Sharp. 

Very  faint. 


Broad  and  faint. 
Sharp. 

Faint. 
Sharp. 
Faint. 

Fairly  strong. 

tt 

Sharp. 
Strong,   may 

agree. 
Fairly  strong. 
Sharp. 

Sharp,  agrees. 
Sharp. 


Very  strong. 
Sharp. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


4588.92 
4589.40 
4590.00 

4590.95  { 

4592.00 
4592.95 
4596.20 
4601.37 
4607.20 

4609.45  { 

4612.75 
4614.05 
4621.42 
4630.73 
4634.00 
4638.90 
4640.75 
4641.90 
4643.45 
4645.40 
4649.25 
4651.02 
4654.10 
4654.85 
4655.90 
4658.05 
4659.60 
4665.70 
4667.55 
4671.65 
4672.30 
4673.30 

4674.95  j 

4676.40 
4681.10 


Very  faint. 


Strong,   may 
agree. 

Strong. 

a 

Very  strong. 
a 

Sharp,   may 

agree. 

Faint. 

Strong,  agrees. 

Strong. 

Very  strong. 

Sharp. 

Strong. 

Rather  faint. 

Fairly  strong. 

Strong. 

Faint. 

Strong. 

Fairly  strong. 

Faint. 
u 

Faint  band. 
Very  faint. 

u 

Faint. 


Very  faint. 

Faint,   may 

agree. 

Very  faint. 


4682.40 
4687.15 
4688.80 
4691.40 
4694.15 
4695.15 
4696.70 
4699.40 
4700.40 
4701.65 
4703.02 
4705.42 
471020 
4712.87 
4719.92 
4731.27 
4733.95 
4740.20 
4744.20 
4753.82 
4760.07 
4763.82 
4771.82 
4775.07 
4782.62 
4788.27 
4791.32 
4798.97 
4800.82 
4802.37 
4808.94 
4810.02 
4811.92 
4813.52 
4816.60 
4820  90 
4822.12 
4825.12 


Very  faint. 


Strong. 
Faint. 
Very  faint. 
Broad  and  faint 
Faint. 

Agrees. 
Fairly  strong. 

u 

Very  faint. 


Sharp. 


Very  strong. 

Very  faint. 

Sharp,  agrees. 

Very  faint. 
a 

Very  strong. 
Very  faint. 
Faint. 


Very  strong. 
Faint. 

Faint,  may  agree 


4842.00 
4863.92 
4877.70 
4878.80 
4879.90 
4891.27 
4894.90 
4898.70 
4906.77 
4907.67 
4913.69 
4915.12 
4916.86 
4936.86 
4940.85 
4945.01 
4945.81 
4950.21 
4951.41 
4953.85 
4955.16 
4960.15 
4969.85 
4972.85 
4979.90 


Faint  but  sharp. 

it  u 

Faint. 
Very  faint. 


Sharp. 

Sharp,  but  faint. 

Sharp. 

Band. 

Sharp. 


Nebulous  band. 
Sharp,  agrees. 


4983.06  \  SharP'   m*y 


\ 


4993.95 
4997.60 
4999.31 
5001.55 
5011.06 
5012.50 
5018.55 

5022.95  • 

5033.85 


agree. 

Faint. 
a 

Agrees. 
Faint. 

Sharp,  agrees. 
Faint. 
May  agree. 
Faint,   may 

agree. 
Very  faint. 


In  regard  to  the  accuracy  that  may  be  expected  of  the  above  posi- 
tions, we  feel  sure  that  few  of  them  are  wrong  by  more  than  a  tenth 
of  a  wave-length,  and  those  are  of  the  class  "Very  faint,"  or  "  Broad 
and  nebulous."  The  better  denned  lines  we  believe  to  be  correct  to 
within  less  than  the  above  amount.  The  method  of  comparison  we 
have  used  admits  of  much  greater  accuracy  than  this,  but  the  ill- 
defined  character  of  the  air  lines  puts  a  limit  to  their  accurate  placing. 
Compared  with  Thalen's  positions,  they  should  be  credited  with  ten 
times  the  accuracy  at  least.  Some  of  Thalen's  bands  are  resolved  into 
two  or  more  in  our  instrument. 

Prof.  John  C.  Draper  projected  his  spectra  upon  a  scale  of  wave- 
lengths by  means  of  a  stereopticon,  —  a  method  which  does  not  inspire 
confidence  in  his  results,  when  we  consider  the  distortion  produced  by 
projecting  lenses. 


OF   ARTS    AND    SCIENCES.  7 

The  scientific  world  seems  largely  to  have  accepted  the  wave-lengths 
of  Angstrom  and  Thalen  as  final.  One  eminent  authority  speaks  of 
them  as  the  "  ne  plus  ultra  "  of  spectroscopic  accuracy ;  and  any  at- 
tempt to  revise  or  correct  them  may  be  looked  upon  as  presumptuous. 
However,  we  believe  the  time  has  arrived  when  the  whole  of  Thalen's 
work  on  metallic  spectra  must  be  re-examined.  It  is  safe  to  say 
that  he  has  tabulated  not  more  than  one  line  in  many  metals  where 
several  exist,  and  his  positions  are  occasionally  wrong  by  as  much  as 
two  wave-lengths. 

As  yet  no  approach  to  the  accuracy  with  which  the  solar  spectrum 
has  been  delineated  has  been  attempted  in  metallic  spectra,  —  a  re- 
markable fact,  when  we  consider  that  the  chief  interest  that  attaches 
to  the  study  of  the  solar  spectrum  is  in  its  connection  with  spectra 
of  terrestrial  elements. 

The  test  of  the  existence  of  oxygen  in  the  sun  is  the  coincidence  of 
the  bright  lines  of  the  spectrum  of  oxygen  with  bright  lines  or  with 
dark  lines  of  the  solar  spectrum.  If  the  bright  lines  of  any  metallic 
vapor  formed  in  the  electric  arc  or  the  electric  spark  coincide  with  the 
dark  lines  of  the  solar  spectrum  which  is  photographed  directly  above 
the  spectrum  of  the  metal  on  the  same  sensitive  plate,  the  evidence  is 
usually  considered  conclusive  in  regard  to  the  existence  of  the  metal 
in  the  sun.  In  the  case  of  iron,  where  hundreds  of  lines  of  the  metal 
coincide  with  dark  lines  in  the  solar  spectrum,  not  only  in  exact  posi- 
tion but  in  general  grouping  and  character,  the  evidence  cannot  be 
doubted  by  any  one  who  has  carefully  examined  it.  When  a  ma- 
jority of  the  lines  of  any  metal  coincide  with  dark  lines  in  the  solar 
spectrum  under  high  dispersion,  not  only  in  position  but  in  group- 
ing, while  a  few  of  the  metal  lines  have  no  representatives  in  the 
solar  spectrum,  there  is  a  probability  that  the  corresponding  lines 
wanting  in  the  sun  have  been  obliterated  by  superposed  lines  or  bands 
of  other  metals.  In  our  paper  "  On  the  Existence  of  Carbon  in 
the  Sun,"  we  have  called  attention  to  a  case  of  such  obliteration. 
It  is  probable,  also,  that  the  non-appearance  of  certain  lines  in  the 
sun  may  be  due  to  certain  conditions  of  temperature.  We  have 
discussed  this  point  more  fully  in  the  paper  on  Carbon,  above  re- 
ferred to. 

The  same  remarks  apply  to  the  coincidence  of  the  lines  of  any  ele- 
ment with  the  supposed  bright  spaces  in  the  sun.  The  value  of  the 
test  of  coincidence  increases  with  the  number  of  coincidences.  If  an 
element  has  only  two  or  three  lines,  and  these  two  or  three  agree  in 
position  with  dark  lines  in  the  solar  spectrum,  the  evidence  of  the 


8  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

existence  of  the  element  in  the  sun  is  not  conclusive.  It  is  supported, 
however,  if  there  is  any  striking  peculiarity  in  the  lines  of  the  element 
which  is  reproduced  in  the  corresponding  lines  in  the  solar  spectrum. 
Thus  the  nebulous  character  of  the  lines  of  magnesium  is  perfectly 
reproduced  in  the  corresponding  lines  in  the  solar  spectrum.  The  test 
of  coincidence,  therefore,  requires  primarily  a  normal  spectrum  and  the 
highest  possible  dispersion.  The  earlier  observers  were  limited  to  in- 
struments of  small  dispersion,  and  the  entire  number  of  lines  observed 
in  the  solar  spectrum  was  small  compared  with  that  given  by  the  best 
modern  apparatus.  The  chances  for  an  apparent  coincidence  were 
therefore  much  greater,  and  evidence  of  a  very  misleading  character 
could  be  obtained. 

In  Dr.  H.  Draper's  published  photograph,  the  coincidence  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  oxygen  lines  with  bright  bands  in  the  solar  spectrum 
is  quite  striking ;  and  it  is  not  a  matter  of  surprise  that  he  was  led  to 
conclude  the  connection  between  the  two  spectra  to  be  a  physical 
one,  and   to  announce  the  existence   of  oxygen  in  the  sun  as  proved. 
Instances  are  not  infrequent  where  instrumental  imperfection  or  lack 
of  power  has  led  to  results  unsupported  by  later  and  more  powerful 
research.     Witness  the  spots  of  Venus  of  the  older  observers.     Now 
when  we  apply  to  the  spectra  of  the  sun  and  oxygen  a  dispersion  and 
definition  that  show  the  minute  detail  of  each,  the  "bright  bands"  at 
once  vanish,  or  no  longer  appear  as  such,  and  all  the  apparent  connec- 
tion between  them  and  the  oxygen  lines  disappears  also.     The  bright 
bands  of  Dr.  H.  Draper's  spectrum  are  found  to  be  occupied  by  nu- 
merous dark  lines,  of  various  degrees  of  intensity  ;  but  the  hypothesis 
of  Prof.  J.  C.  Draper,  that  these  are  the  true  representatives  of  the 
oxygen  lines,  is  rendered   untenable   by  the  lack  of  any  systematic 
connection  between  the  two.    It  happens  quite  frequently  that  an  oxy- 
gen line  falls  centrally  upon  the  space  between  two  dark  lines  of  the 
solar  spectrum,  but  not  more  frequently  than  we  might  expect  as  a 
matter  of  chance,  when  we   consider  the   vast  number  of  lines  and 
spaces  ;  and  the  fact  that  the  spaces  are  no  brighter  than  the  sur- 
rounding background  of  the  solar  spectrum  would  not  seem  to  permit 
of  their  interpretation  as  bright  lines. 

The  subject  of  bright  lines  in  the  solar  spectrum  is  one  upon  which 
men  will  probably  differ,  and  we  have  sought  information  upon  it.  Of 
course  there  is  no  a  priori  reason  why  such  bright  lines  should  not 
exist,  as  they  do  in  many  stars ;  but  we  have  photographed  the  sun's 
spectrum  every  day  that  the  sun  has  shone  for  nearly  five  months, 
without   finding   a   line    that    could    with    certainty   be   pronounced 


OF   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES.  9 

brighter  than  its  neighbors  ;  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  photo- 
graph  is  the  best  of  photometers  in  such  a  case. 

In  regard  to  the  other  three  spectra  of  oxygen  of  Schuster  we 
have  nothing  to  say ;  but  as  far  as  concerns  the  spark  spectrum 
in  air  and  the  solar  spectrum  from  wave-lengths  3749.8  to  5033.85 
we  can  safely  affirm  that  there  is  no  physical  connection  between 
them. 


10  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Investigations  on  Light  and  Heat,  made  and  published  wholly  or  in  part  with 
Appropriation  from  the  Rumford  .Fund. 


II. 

CONTRIBUTIONS  FROM  THE  PHYSICAL  LABORATORY  OF 
HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

ON  THE   EXISTENCE   OF    CARBON  IN  THE   SUN. 

By  John  Trowbridge  and  C.  C.  Hutchins. 

Presented  March  9, 1887. 

From  the  presence  of  absorption  bands  in  the  solar  spectrum  at 
high  altitudes,  Captain  Abney  has  been  led  to  believe  in  the  existence 
of  certain  hydrocarbons  between  the  earth  and  the  sun  ;  and  Sieraens's 
theory  of  the  conservation  of  solar  energy  depends  upon  the  sup- 
posed existence  of  carbon  vapor  in  interplanetary  space.  It  is  not 
our  purpose  to  discuss  Abney 's  observations,  or  the  truth  of  Siemens's 
hypothesis.  We  wish  to  call  attention  to  the  remarkable  character  of 
the  carbon  spectrum,  formed  by  the  Voltaic  arc  in  air  between  car- 
bon terminals ;  and  to  draw  attention  to  the  evidence  presented  by 
the  juxtaposed  solar  spectrum  of  the  existence  of  carbon  in  the  sun. 

In  our  early  experiments  the  carbon  terminals  between  which  the 
Voltaic  arc  was  formed  were  heated  several  hours,  while  a  stream  of 
chlorine  gas  was  passed  over  them.  This  operation  was  not  entirely 
successful  in  removing  metallic  impurities.  Subsequently  we  discov- 
ered that  the  spectra  of  these  impurities  could  be  readily  distinguished 
from  the  marked  fluted  carbon  spectrum,  and  we  therefore  employed 
the  ordinary  compressed  carbon  sticks  employed  in  electric  lighting. 

For  our  work  the  nicest  adjustment  of  slit  was  necessary,  in  order 
that  no  displacement  of  spectrum  lines  could  possibly  occur  when  the 
carbon  spectrum  was  photographed  in  juxtaposition  with  the  solar 
spectrum.  This  was  accomplished  by  the  use  of  a  slit,  the  jaws  of 
which  opened  equally. 

One  of  Rowland's  concave  gratings,  of  21  feet  6  inches  in  curvature 
and  14,000  lines  to  the  inch,  was  employed.  In  order  to  avoid  any 
possible  displacement  of  the  photographic  camera  during  the  operation 
of  photographing  the  carbon  spectrum  immediately  below  the  solar 


OF   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES.  11 

spectrum,  a  drop  shutter  was  arranged  directly  in  front  of  the  sensi- 
tive plate,  the  movement  of  which  was  independent  of  any  movement 
of  the  camera.  Preliminary  experiments  showed  us  the  importance 
in  this  work  of  employing  a  spectroscope  of  great  dispersion  and  of 
fine  definition,  giving  also  a  normal  spectrum.  The  use  of  a  prism 
spectroscope  would  undoubtedly  have  masked  the  phenomenon  we 
have  observed.  For  our  purposes,  therefore,  Rowland's  apparatus 
was  peculiarly  advantageous. 

Our  experiments  lead  us  to  conclude  that  there  is  positive  evidence 
in  the  solar  spectrum  of  the  existence  of  carbon  in  the  sun.  Before 
giving  an  account  of  our  experiments  in  detail,  a  few  observations 
may  not  be  considered  out  of  place. 

One  who  studies  the  solar  spectrum  by  itself,  and  who  has  had  no 
experience  in  the  formation  and  observation  of  metallic  spectra,  is 
apt  to  regard  the  dark  lines  in  the  solar  spectrum  as  fixed  in  charac- 
ter and  condition.  A  line  which  is  seen  by  one  observer,  and  not  by 
another,  is  generally  regarded  as  a  terrestrial  line  formed  by  absorp- 
tion in  the  earth's  atmosphere.  Certain  lines  are  well  known  to  be 
due  to  the  terrestrial  absorption,  as  can  be  easily  proved  by  their 
appearance  when  the  sun  is  observed  at  sunset,  when  the  rays  of  light 
have  to  penetrate  a  greater  thickness  of  the  earth's  atmosphere  than 
at  midday.  The  shifting  layers  of  vapor  in  the  sun's  atmosphere  also 
may,  in  certain  cases,  obliterate  or  strengthen  certain  lines  of  a  metal. 
To  understand  this  it  is  only  necessary  to  extend  the  reasoning  of  the 
conservation  of  energy  to  the  subject.  It  is  a  common  lecture  experi- 
ment to  reverse  the  metallic  lines  by  passing  the  rays  of  light  pro- 
duced by  the  vapor  of  the  element  through  a  layer  of  vapor  colder 
than  that  of  the  source  of  the  rays.  The  energy  of  the  rays  is  thus 
absorbed  in  heating  the  colder  layer.  When  the  temperature  of  the 
vapor  is  increased,  and  becomes  equal  to  that  of  the  source,  no  reversal 
takes  place.  Thus,  on  the  sun's  surface  the  conditions  for  a  reversal 
may  be  wanting  at  certain  times,  and  faint  lines  may  become  bright. 
Their  brightness  may  not  be  sufficient  to  affect  the  general  illumina- 
tion of  the  solar  spectrum  of  which  they  form  a  part.  Conditions 
may  arise,  moreover,  in  which  the  temperature  of  the  reversing  vapor 
may  be  called  critical,  —  at  such  a  temperature  that  the  faint  reversal 
is  sufficient  to  extinguish  the  bright  line  of  a  metal  without  producing 
a  well-defined  dark  line.  At  certain  epochs,  also,  the  temperature  of 
the  vapor  of  any  element  in  the  sun  may  be  higher  than  at  other 
times ;  and  certain  lines  may  thus  appear  which  are  wanting  when 
the  temperature  falls.     One  is  forced  to  these  conclusions  in  observing 


12  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

the  conditions  under  which  the  varying  character  of  metallic  spectra 
are  produced.  For  instance,  we  have  caused  the  rays  from  iron  vapor 
to  traverse  a  long  and  dense  layer  of  iron  vapor,  and  have  observed 
that  the  strength  of  the  lines  and  the  number  of  reversals  have  been 
largely  increased.  In  another  experiment,  the  lower  carbon  of  the 
electric  lamp  we  employed  occupied  the  centre  of  an  electro-magnet. 
This  was  accomplished  by  passing  the  carbon  through  a  hollow  iron 
cone,  and  surrounding  the  latter  by  layers  of  wire,  through  which  the 
electrical  current  employed  in  generating  the  light  passed.  In  this 
case  the  electric  arc  was  spread  out  at  right  angles  to  the  pole  of  the 
magnet,  into  a  fan-like,  intensely  hot  flame,  which  roared  loudly,  and 
which  rarefied,  so  to  speak,  the  iron  vapor  between  the  carbon  termi- 
nals. The  strength  of  the  lines  and  the  number  of  reversals  were 
diminished  under  this  new  condition. 

Another  phenomenon  may  happen.  When  an  excess  of  the  vapor 
of  one  metal  floats  over  or  is  mixed  with  that  of  another,  the  lines  of 
one  metal  are  superimposed  upon  those  of  another  in  the  solar  spec- 
trum, and  the  stronger  spectrum  of  one  element  may  easily  obliterate 
the  weaker  spectrum  of  another.  Thus  we  have  succeeded  in  com- 
pletely obliterating  the  fluted  spectrum  of  carbon  in  the  green  and  blue, 
by  photographing  upon  it  the  spectrum  of  iron,  of  nickel,  and  of  ce- 
rium. A  species  of  composite  photograph  was  thus  obtained.  It  is 
possible  that  in  the  future  Galton's  ingenious  method  of  composite 
photography  may  be  applied  to  the  solar  spectrum;  and  by  a  judi- 
cious selection  of  photographs  of  the  elements,  a  composite  photograph 
may  be  obtained  which  will  closely  resemble  portions  of  the  solar 
spectrum,  and  will  enable  us  to  judge  of  the  composition  of  the  revers- 
ing layers  of  the  sun. 

To  the  varying  conditions  which  we  have  thus  outlined  are  due, 
we  believe,  the  disappearance  in  the  sun's  spectrum  of  the  marked 
fluted  spectrum  of  carbon  in  the  green  and  blue  portions. 

A  careful  examination  of  the  fluted  spectrum  of  carbon,  however, 
with  the  juxtaposed  solar  spectrum,  discloses  a  remarkable  fact: 
while  traces  of  obliteration  of  the  evidence  of  carbon  vapor  are  seen, 
yet  the  general  character  of  the  lines  in  the  solar  spectrum  immedi- 
ately juxtaposed  with  the  fluted  spectrum  of  carbon  near  H  lead  us  to 
believe  that  there  is  unmistakable  evidence  of  the  existence  of  carbon 
vapor  in  the  sun.  When  the  arrangement  of  the  fine  lines  of  the 
spectrum  of  carbon  is  plotted  as  a  curve,  and  that  of  the  dark  lines 
in  the  solar  spectrum  immediately  above  the  carbon  spectrum  is  also 
plotted,  the  two  curves  have  a  remarkable  similarity  in  character, 
running  with  a  slight  convexity  toward  one  axis. 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  13 

In  the  first  fluting  at  wave-length  3883.7  within  the  limit  of  ten 
wave-lengths,  over  2S  of  the  spaces  between  the  fine  bright  lines  of 
the  flutings  coincide  with  dark  lines  immediately  in  juxtaposition  in 
the  solar  spectrum.  When  we  consider  that  the  progressive  arrange- 
ment of  these  lines  is  exactly  the  same  both  in  the  spectrum  of  carbon 
and  that  of  the  sun,  we  cannot  consider  that  this  coincidence  is  the 
result  of  chance.  On  examining  the  spectrum  of  carbon  in  the  region 
near  H  still  further,  a  remarkable  number  of  coincidences  of  the 
spaces  between  the  bright  lines  of  the  carbon  spectrum  with  dark  lines 
in  the  solar  spectrum  will  be  observed.  We  are  led,  therefore,  to 
conclude  that  the  fluted  spectrum  of  carbon  is  an  example  of  the 
reversal  of  the  lines  of  a  vapor  in  its  own  vapor.  Fluted  spectra 
occur  at  comparatively  low  temperatures.  When  carbon  is  ignited, 
we  have  at  first  a  continuous  spectrum.  When  the  temperature  in- 
creases and  the  carbon  is  volatilized,  fluted  spectra  occur,  which 
consist  of  interruptions  of  the  continuous  spectrum  by  fine  line  re- 
versals occurring  in  harmonic  order.  The  same  phenomenon  can  be 
observed  in  the  spectrum  of  iron  lines  :  through  the  centre  of  an  iron 
line,  when  a  sufficient  amount  of  iron  vapor  surrounds  the  Voltaic 
arc  in  which  iron  is  volatilized,  reversal  lines  are  always  seen.  Now 
if  the  iron  lines  were  arranged  in  regular  order,  the  reversals  would 
also  be  in  like  regular  order,  and  would  coincide  with  similar  reversals 
in  the  solar  spectrum.  Assuming  the  conditions  at  the  sun's  surface 
to  be  the  same  as  those  we  have  in  the  Voltaic  arc,  when  carbon  is 
volatilized,  the  character  of  the  carbon  spectrum  should  exactly  agree 
with  the  character  of  the  solar  spectrum  juxtaposed.  This  is  found 
to  be  true  to  a  remarkable  degree  in  comparing  portions  of  the  solar 
spectrum  with  portions  of  the  fluted  spectrum  of  carbon  beginning 
at  wave-length   3883.7. 

Our  hypothesis  leads  us  to  conclude,  that,  at  the  point  of  the  sun's 
atmosphere  where  carbon  is  volatilized,  so  as  to  produce  the  peculiar 
arrangement  of  reversals  observed,  the  temperature  of  the  sun  ap- 
proximates to  that  of  the  Voltaic  arc. 


14  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


Investigations  on  Light  and  Heat,  made  and  published  wholly  oe  in  paet  with 
Appkopeiation  from  the  Rumford  Fund. 


III. 

CONTRIBUTIONS    FROM    THE    PHYSICAL    LABORATORY    OF 
HARVARD    UNIVERSITY. 

ON   THE   EXISTENCE   OF   CERTAIN   ELEMENTS, 

TOGETHER   WITH   THE    DISCOVERY   OF 

PLATINUM,   IN   THE    SUN. 

By  C.  C.  Hutchins  and  E.  L.  Holden. 

Presented  by  Professor  John  Trowbridge,  March  9,  1887. 

Late  in  the  fall  of  1886  it  was  decided  by  the  writers,  who  were  then 
at  work  in  the  Physical  Laboratory  of  Harvard  University,  to  attempt 
a  revision  of  some  of  the  previous  work  in  regard  to  the  chemical 
constitution  of  the  sun,  as  well  as  to  discover,  if  possible,  new  facts 
bearing  on  the  same  subject.  For  the  purpose  of  this  investigation 
a  magnificent  diffraction  grating,  made  by  Professor  Rowland  of  Bal- 
timore, was  kindly  placed  at  our  disposal  by  Professor  John  Trow- 
bridge, under  whose  supervision  and  direction  the  subsequent  work  has 
been  done. 

After  some  delay  caused  by  the  mounting  of  the  grating  and  its 
attachments,  work  was  begun  early  in  January,  1887,  but,  owing  to 
bad  weather  and  other  hindrances,  was  not  regularly  and  systemati- 
cally prosecuted  till  somewhat  later. 

The  grating  used  is  of  speculum  metal  with  a  ruled  surface  meas- 
uring 6  inches  by  2,  having  14,438  lines  to  the  inch.  It  is  concave, 
its  radius  of  curvature  being  21^  feet,  and  is  mounted  according  to 
Professor  Rowland's  method.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  method  is 
such  that,  by  simply  rolling  the  camera  along  an  iron  track,  it  passes 
not  only  from  one  part  of  the  spectrum  to  another,  but  also  to  the 
spectra  of  different  orders,  at  the  will  of  the  operator.  As  the  dis- 
tances on  this  track  are  proportional  to  the  relative  wave-lengths  of 
the  lines  that  fall  successively  on  a  given  point  in  the  camera,  it  is 
easy,  by  means  of  a  suitable  scale  of  equal  parts  placed  beside  the 
track,  to  set  the  centre  of  the  photographic  plate  instantly  within  a 
single  wave-length  of  any  given  line  in  the  spectrum. 


OF   ARTS    AND    SCIENCES.  15 

And  here  let  us  parenthetically  state  that  all  Our  wave-lengths  are 
those  given  by  Professor  Rowland's  photographic  map  of  the  solar 
spectrum,  the  position  of  every  line  referred  to  being  carefully  identi- 
fied upon  the  map,  and  its  absolute  wave-length  thus  determined. 
Although  some  of  the  negatives  contain  many  lines  too  faint  to  show 
on  the  map,  yet  we  feel  confident  that  our  numbers  correspond  in  all 
cases  to  those  of  the  map  within  one  tenth  of  a  wave-length. 

The  lhdit  is  brought  into  the  room  by  means  of  a  forte  lumiere, 
and  then  sent  through  the  slit  after  total  reflection  by  a  right-angled 
prism.  Before  striking  the  prism  it  passes  through  a  cylindrical  lens, 
which  condenses  it  to  a  band  of  light  about  2  inches  long  and  I  inch 
wide.  The  jaws  of  the  slit  move  equally  in  opposite  directions,  so 
that,  however  widely  they  may  be  opened,  no  lateral  displacement  of 
lines  can  result  from  this  cause. 

Directly  in  front  of  the  slit  is  placed  a  large  tin  lantern  containing 
an  electric  lamp ;  the  image  of  the  arc  can  be  brought  exactly  upon 
the  slit  by  means  of  an  adjustable  lens  in  the  front  of  the  lantern. 
In  the  lower  carbon  of  the  lamp  is  made  a  cup-shaped  cavity,  which  is 
filled  with  the  substance  a  spectrum  of  which  is  desired.  It  is  not  at 
all  necessary  that  this  be  in  the  form  of  a  metal,  for  any  ordinary 
compound  is  at  once  reduced  by  the  intense  heat  and  the  presence 
of  carbon  vapor  to  the  metallic  state. 

The  plan  of  working  has  been  as  follows.  The  apparatus  being 
arranged  as  described,  the  sunlight  is  admitted  and  the  desired  portion 
of  solar  spectrum  photographed  upon  the  upper  half  of  the  plate ; 
then  the  sunlight  is  excluded  by  a  shutter,  and  the  image  of  the  elec- 
tric arc  containing  the  proper  metal  is  allowed  to  fall  upon  the  slit, 
and  its  spectrum  photographed  on  the  lower  half  of  the  plate.  (Most 
of  the  plates  used  were  those  made  by  the  M.  A.  Seed  Co.,  and  were 
cut  to  the  size  of  8  inches  by  2.  The  most  sensitive  plates  were 
obtained,  and  even  then  we  found  the  required  time  of  exposure  for 
some  parts  of  the  spectrum  inconveniently  long.) 

In  order  to  effect  the  exposure  of  either  half  of  the  plate  at  will, 
we  placed  directly  in  front  of  the  camera  an  opaque  screen,  in  which 
was  a  rectangular  opening  one  half  the  size  of  the  plate.  By  turning 
a  handle,  this  screen  is  raised  or  lowered  without  the  slightest  disturb- 
ance of  camera  or  plate.  The  metallic  spectrum,  being  thus  photo- 
graphed immediately  below  the  solar  spectrum,  can  be  compared  with 
it  at  leisure. 

These  spectra  are  then  examined  with  the  aid  of  a  glass  magnifying 
about  ten  diameters,  and  any  coincidences  between  solar  and  metallic 


16  PROCEEDINGS    OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

lines  carefully  noted  according  to  their  wave-lengths.  In  order  to 
eliminate  any  personal  error,  they  are  examined  by  both  observers 
separately,  and  their  results  afterwards  compared. 

To  eliminate  errors  arising  from  suspected  impurities  of  materials, 
as  also  from  the  impurities  known  to  exist  in  the  carbons  employed, 
we  took  what  we  called  "  comparison  photographs."  For  these,  we 
placed  in  the  carbon  cup  a  portion  of  the  substances  known  or  sus- 
pected to  be  present  as  impurities  in  our  metal,  and  then  photographed 
the  spectrum  thus  given  on  the  upper  half  of  the  plate ;  a  piece  of 
the  metal  under  experiment  was  then  placed  in  the  lamp,  and  the 
spectrum  photographed  on  the  lower  part  of  the  plate.  Any  lines 
due  to  impurities  would  then  extend  entirely  across  the  plate,  while 
those  of  the  pure  metal  would  extend  only  half-way.  In  addition  to 
this  precaution  we  consulted  all  accessible  tables  and  plates  as  to  the 
position  of  known  lines  of  metallic  spectra,  and  also  compared  together 
all  our  photographs  of  the  same  region.  If  all  of  these  tests  left  any 
doubt  as  to  the  origin  of  a  given  line,  it  was  at  once  subjected  to 
special  investigation  until  all  doubt  was  removed. 

The  dispersion  given  by  the  apparatus  in  the  order  of  spectrum  in 
which  we  worked  is  such  that  a  single  wave-length  occupies  on  the 
negative  a  space  of  1.12  mm.  This  makes  the  distance  between  the 
lines  Dj  and  D2  6.7  mm.,  while  the  length  of  spectrum  from  A  to  H 
is  about  4.1  m.  With  so  great  dispersion  it  would  hardly  be  possible 
to  mistake  the  position  of  a  line  by  any  very  considerable  amount,  or 
to  confound  neighboring  lines  belonging  to  different  metals. 

For  reasons  readily  apparent,  it  was  found  so  difficult  to  photograph 
under  high  dispersive  power  those  parts  of  the  spectrum  not  lying 
between  wave-length  3600  and  wave-length  5000,  that  our  photo- 
graphic work  was  done  chiefly  within  those  limits.  It  was,  however, 
supplemented  in  many  cases  by  eye  observations  in  other  portions  of 
the  spectrum. 

We  are  convinced  that  there  is  much  in  the  whole  matter  of  coinci- 
dences of  metallic  and  solar  lines  that  needs  re-examination ;  that 
something  more  than  the  mere  coincidence  of  two  or  three  lines  out  of 
many  is  necessary  to  establish  even  the  probability  of  the  presence  of 
a  metal  in  the  sun.  With  the  best  instruments  the  violet  portion 
of  the  solar  spectrum  is  found  to  be  so  thickly  set  with  fine  lines,  that, 
if  a  metallic  line  were  projected  upon  it  at  random,  in  many  places 
the  chances  for  a  coincidence  would  be  even,  and  coincidences  could 
not  fail  to  occur  in  case  of  such  metals  as  cerium  and  vanadium 
which  give  hundreds  of  lines  in  the  arc. 


OP  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  17 

Moreover,  a  high  dispersion  shows  that  very  few  lines  of  metals 
are  simple  and  short,  hut,  on  the  contrary,  winged  and  nebulous,  and 
complicated  by  a  great  variety  of  reversal  phenomena.  A  "  line  "  is 
sometimes  half  an  inch  wide  on  the  photographic  plate,  or  it  may  be 
split  into  ten  by  reversals. 

At  first,  we  believed  that  these  reversals  were  due  to  defects  in  the 
rulino-  of  the  grating,  but  we  are  convinced  that  they  are  true  phe- 
nomena from  the  following  experiments.  1st.  The  wings  continue 
when  various  portions  of  the  grating  are  covered.  2d.  They  are  the 
same  in  three  successive  orders  of  spectra.  3d.  They  are  very  differ- 
ent in  different  metals,  and  in  some  are  not  seen  at  all.  4th.  We 
arranged  a  flat  grating,  with  collimator  and  projecting  lens,  each  of 
five  feet  focus,  and  found  that  with  this  apparatus  the  same  phenom- 
ena appeared. 

On  pages  87  and  88  of  "  The  Sun,"  Professor  Young  gives  a  list  of 
elements  in  the  sun  according  to  the  best  authorities,  which  is  followed 
by  a  list  of  doubtful  elements.  Some  of  these  we  have  examined 
with  tho  following  results  :  — 

Cadmium.  —  The  coincidence  of  the  two  lines  given  by  Lockyer  at 
wave-lengths  4677  and  4799  is  perfect.  These  are  the  only  cadmium 
lines  near,  and  sun  lines  in  the  vicinity  are  not  numerous. 

Lead.  —  The  evidence  for  lead,  due  to  Lockyer,  is  based  upon  three 
lines  at  4019.7,  4058.2,  and  40G1.8.  We  have  photographed  these 
Lines  with  the  sun  many  times.  They  are  broad  and  nebulous,  and 
often  several  times  reversed.  Lines  in  solar  spectrum  numerous  and 
faint.  4019.7  and  4058.2  certainly  do  not  coincide.  4061.8  is  very 
difficult  to  pronounce  upon  ;  it  may  coincide. 

Cerium,  Molybdenum,  Uranium,  and  Vanadium.  —  These  four 
metals  may  be  classed  together.  Lockyer  finds  four  coincidences 
each  for  molybdenum  and  vanadium,  three  for  uranium,  and  two  for 
cerium.  The  arc  spectrum  of  each  is  characterized  by  great  com- 
plexity and  vast  numbers  of  lines.  So  numerous  are  the  lines  in  fact, 
that  often  on  the  photographs  the  total  space  occupied  by  them  is 
greater  than  the  space  not  so  occupied.  A  plate  ten  inches  long  may 
contain  a  thousand  or  so.  Evidently  coincidences  between  these  and 
solar  lines  cannot  fail  to  occur  as  matters  of  chance,  and  therefore 
prove  nothing.  One  can  easily  count  a  hundred  or  so  such  coinci- 
dences without  the  slightest  conviction  that  the  connection  is  other 
than  fortuitous.  Of  course  all  this  is  nothing  against  the  probability 
of  these  metals  being  in  the  sun  ;  but  at  the  same  time  those  peculi- 
arities of  grouping,  strength  of  lines,  and  other  characteristics  which 
vol.  xxin.  (n.  s.  xv.)  2 


18  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

occur  in  the  case  of  iron  and  other  spectra,  and  which  alone  can  serve 
as  evidence  in  such  cases,  are  conspicuously  absent. 

Among  the  metals  whose  existence  in  the  solar  atmosphere  has 
seemed  probable,  we  have  examined  the  following :  — 

Bismuth.  —  The  line  of  the  above  metal  at  4722.9,  the  only  line  of 
bismuth  in  the  arc  in  that  whole  region,  coincides  perfectly  with  the 
more  refrangible  of  a  very  faint  pair  of  solar  lines. 

Tin.  —  The  solitary  tin  line  at  4525,  thought  by  Lockyer  to  coin- 
cide, falls  directly  between  two  fine  lines  in  the  solar  spectrum. 

Silver.  —  Lockyer  mentions  a  certain  possibility  of  silver  in  the 
solar  atmosphere  from  the  apparent  agreement  of  two  of  its  nebulous 
lines  with  solar  lines.  One  of  these  we  have  never  been  able  to  find 
in  the  course  of  many  photographs  of  the  region  in  which  it  is  given 
by  him. 

We  find  seven  lines  of  silver  between  4000  and  4900.  Of  these 
seven,  three  are  what  Thalen  calls  nebulous ;  so  broad  and  hazy  tbat 
their  true  positions  cannot  be  determined  with  much  accuracy.  These 
lie  at  about  4055.5,  4063.6,  and  4212.  A  fourth  line  at  4023  is  of 
the  same  general  character,  but  has  a  sharp  reversal  which  agrees 
with  a  solar  line.  The  remaining  three  lines  are  represented  in  the 
sun,  and  are  given  by  Thalen  in  the  spark  spectrum  of  the  metal. 

4476.2.  Very  strong  line  ;  nebulous  on  lower  edge.  Sun  line 
strong.     (Thalen,  4475.) 

4668.8.     Strong,  solitary  line.     (Thalen,  4666.5.) 

4874.3.  Fairly  strong.     (Thalen,  4874.) 

Thus,  between  the  limits  given  above,  every  line  of  silver,  as  far  as 
can  be  determined,  coincides  with  a  solar  line. 

Potassium.  —  We  could  find  but  two  lines  of  potassium,  the  same 
that  were  examined  by  Lockyer,  4044.5  and  4048.35.  Each  line  is 
reversed  four  times,  which  increases  the  difficulty  of  locating  them 
exactly.  4048.35  seems  to  agree  with  a  solar  line.  The  solar  line 
near  4044.5  is  very  faint,  and  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  decide  the 
question  of  an  agreement. 

Lithium.  —  The  blue  line  of  lithium  presents  a  curious  case.  The 
very  broad  and  nebulous  line  has  a  rather  sharp  reversal  near  the 
centre,  and  somewhat  toward  the  lower  edge  a  broader  and  less  clearly- 
defined  reversal.  Both  these  reversals  agree  with  solar  lines  at 
4602.5  and  4603.2.  It  is  possible  that  one  of  the  reversals  may  be 
due  to  the  presence  of  some  other  substance,  say  calcium ;  but  if  that 
were  true,  it  would  seem  that  both  reversals  would  be  nearly,  if  not 
quite,  obliterated.  Further  experiment  may  clear  the  matter  up. 
4603.2  is  given  to  iron  by  Thalen. 


OF   ARTS    AND    SCIENCES.  19 

Platinum.  —  As  far  as  we  can  learn,  no  evidence  lias  hitherto  been 
offered  to  show  the  occurrence  of  this  metal  in  the  solar  atmosphere. 
We  were  somewhat  surprised,  therefore,  upon  meeting  with  coinci- 
dences. Between  4250  and  4950  we  find  64  lines  of  platinum,  six- 
teen of  which  agree  with  solar  lines.  The  latter  are  at  the  following 
places :  — 

4291.10  4481.85 

4392.00  (Thalen  4389.4)  4552.80  (Thalen  4551.8) 

4430.40  4560.30 

4435.20  4580.80 

4440.70  4852.90  (Thalen  4851.5) 

4445.75  (Thalen  4442.0)  4857.70 

4448.05  4899.00 

4455.00  4932.40 

We  have  taken  all  possible  care  to  make  this  statement  accurate, 
and  to  admit  no  lines  about  which  there  seemed  to  be  any  question. 
There  are  seven  other  lines  not  included  in  the  list,  the  probability  of 
agreement  of  which  is  at  least  as  good  as  that  upon  which  potassium 
is  admitted. 

In  all  these  experiments  everything  has  been  done  to  bring  out  and 
show  upon  the  photograph  as  much  as  possible.  The  lamp,  con- 
structed for  the  purpose  and  fed  by  a  powerful  dynamo,  gave  an 
arc  from  a  half  to  three  fourths  of  an  inch  loner,  and  burned  with 
a  long  flame  and  so  intense  a  heat  that  it  could  be  worked  for  but 
a  few  minutes  at  a  time.  Any  one  who  has  carried  out  a  series  of 
experiments  like  this  is  alone  competent  to  appreciate  the  great  labor 
and  the  endless  difficulties  and  perplexities  that  attend  them. 

Our  thanks  are  especially  due  to  Dr.  Wolcott  Gibbs  for  his 
hearty  encouragement,  and  for  the  use  of  valuable  apparatus  and 
chemicals. 


IV. 

CONTRIBUTIONS  FROM  THE  CHEMICAL  LABORATORY  OF 
HARVARD   COLLEGE. 

THE   ACTION   OF   FLUORIDE   OF    SILICON   ON 
ORGANIC  BASES. 

By  Arthur  M.  Comey  and  C.  Loring  Jackson. 

Presented  June  15,  1887. 

The  research  described  in  the  following  paper  was  undertaken  in  the 
hope  of  obtaining  from  the  amines  products  similar  to  the  compound 
which  ammonia  gives  with  fluoride  of  silicon,  (NH„)2SiF4,  discovered 
by  Gay-Lussac  and  Thenard,*  and  three  years  later  prepared  and 
studied  by  J.  Davy.f  We  have  been  able  to  find  only  two  previous 
papers  on  this  subject,  one  published  by  Laurent  and  Delbos,$  in 
1848,  in  which  the  action  of  fluoride  of  silicon  on  aniline  is  described, 
the  product  being  a  nearly  white  mass,  which  they  washed  with  ether, 
boiled  with  alcohol,  and  sublimed  to  purify  it  for  analysis  ;  their  analy- 
ses, however,  led  only  to  a  very  complex  formula  containing  oxygen, 
which  they  advance  "  with  much  reserve,"  although  it  was  confirmed 
by  the  proportions  §  in  which  its  factors  combined.  The  substance 
when  treated  with  water  gave  a  gelatinous  precipitate  of  silicic  acid, 
and  when  boiled  with  alcohol  was  converted  into  small  white  lustrous 
scales.||  The  second  paper  was  published  by  W.  Knop,**  in  1858,  and 
had  for  its  primary  object  the  study  of  the  solution  of  fluoride  of  sili- 
con in  absolute  alcohol,  which  gave  with  urea  and  aniline  the  fluosili- 
cates  of  these  bases,  both  of  which  Knop  sublimed,  and  obtained  from 

*  Mem.  d'Arcueil,  ii.  317. 

t  Phil.  Transact.,  1812,  p.  352. 

$  Ann.  Chim.  Phys.,  ser.  3,  xxii.  101. 

§  These  proportions  agree  tolerably  with  the  formula  worked  out  by  us  for 
this  substance,  but  their  analytical  results  do  not,  and  are  entitled  to  no  con- 
sideration, on  account  of  the  difficulties  in  the  analysis,  which  Laurent  and 
Delbos  did  not  succeed  in  overcoming. 

||  Aniline  fluosilicate. 

**  Chem.  Centralblatt,  1858,  p.  388. 


OF    ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  21 

the  uvea  fluosilicate  only  amnionic  fluosilicate,  silicic  acid,  and  cyanuric 
acid ;  but  from  the  aniline  fluosilicate  a  new  substance,  which  gave  a 
precipitate  of  gelatiuous  silicic  acid  with  water,  and  contained  more 
silicon  and  fluorine  than  the  fluosilicate.  He  did  not,  however,  identify 
it  with  the  substance  made  by  Laurent  and  Delbos.  We  may  add, 
that  some  years  later  W.  Knop  and  W.  Wolf  *  describe  the  aniline 
fluosilicate  more  iu  detail. 

The  results  of  our  work  on  this  subject  may  be  summarized  briefly 
as  follows.  Aniline  forms  with  fluoride  of  silicon  a  compound  having 
the  formula  (C6H5NH.,)3(SiF4)2,  which  sublimes  without  alteration, 
but  is  decomposed  with  water  forming  aniline  fluosilicate  and  silicic 
acid  ;  when  heated  with  an  excess  of  aniline  it  is  converted  into  another 
compound  having  the  formula  (CGH.NH2)4(SiF4)2,  and  the  same  sub- 
stance is  formed  when  fluoride  of  silicon  acts  on  aniline  at  high  tem- 
peratures. This  second  product  is  unstable,  breaking  up  spontaneously 
into  the  first  and  free  aniline.  The  following  bases  also  give  com- 
pounds containing  three  molecules  of  the  base  to  two  of  fluoride  of 
silicon  :  paratoluidine,  orthotoluidine,  parachloraniline,  diphenylamine, 
dimethylaniline,  chinoline,  and  dimethylamine,  the  last  giving  also  a 
compound  having  the  formula  ((CH5)2NH)4(SiF4)2.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  have  not  succeeded  in  obtaining  from  ammonia  a  compound 
of  the  formula  (NH3)3(SiF4)2. 

We  propose  to  call  these  substances  silicotetrafluorides,  a  clumsy 
name,  it  is  true,  but  one  which  will  designate  them  with  certainty, 
whereas  all  the  simpler  names,  such  as  silicofluoride  or  fluosilicide, 
have  been  used  for  the  fluosilicates  at  one  time  or  another,  and  might 
therefore  lead  to  confusion. 

The  remainder  of  the  paper  contains  the  detailed  account  of  our 
experimental  results,  and  at  the  end  a  discussion  of  our  views  in  regard 
to  the  constitution  of  the  silicotetrafluorides. 

Products  of  the  Action  of  Fluoride  of  Silicon  on 

Aniline. 

Trianiline  Disilicoletrafluoride,  (C6H5NH2)3(SiF4)2.  —  This  sub- 
stance was  prepared  by  passing  fluoride  of  silicon  over  aniline.  The 
fluoride  of  silicon  was  made  in  the  usual  way,  from  calcic  fluoride, 
sand,  and  sulphuric  acid  ;  but  as  we  found  that  a  glass  flask  after 
using  it  two  or  three  times  became  perforated  by  the  small  quantities 
of  hydrofluoric  acid  formed  in  the  process,  we  replaced  it  by  a  thick 

*  Chem.  Centralblatt,  1862,  p.  401. 


22  PROCEEDINGS    OP    THE    AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

glass  bottle  warmed  in  a  water-bath,  which  lasted  through  a  number 
of  preparations.  The  delivery-tube  should  not  dip  below  the  surface 
of  the  aniline,  as  in  that  case  there  is  danger  that  it  will  be  stopped 
by  the  product ;  but  if  it  is  brought  near  the  surface  of  the  base,  the 
action  takes  place  so  rapidly  that  very  little  of  the  fluoride  of  silicon 
is  lost.  A  good  deal  of  heat  is  given  out  during  the  reaction,  and  the 
aniline  is  converted  into  a  loose  white  solid,  which  was  washed  with 
hot  ligroine  until  free  from  aniline,  and  then  its  purification  finished 
by  two  sublimations.  The  yield  was  essentially  quantitative,  30  grams 
of  aniline  giving  after  treatment  with  fluoride  of  silicon  for  24  hours 
51  grains  of  product,  instead  of  52  grams,  the  amount  which  should  be 
obtained  for  the  formula*  (CcH.NH2)3(SiF4)2.  The  same  substance 
is  formed  when  aniline  fluosilicate  is  sublimed,  and  the  preparation, 
the  analysis  of  which  is  numbered  I.,  was  made  in  this  way.  It  is  to 
be  observed  that  the  substance  analyzed  by  Laurent  and  Delbos  was 
really  prepared  in  this  way,  since  by  boiling  their  original  product 
with  alcohol  they  converted  it  into  aniline  fluosilicate,  which  was  after- 
ward reconverted  into  the  silicotetrafluoride  by  sublimation.  Also  the 
substance  obtained  by  Knop  by  sublimation  of  his  auiline  fluosilicate 
was  the  trianiline  disilicotetrafluoride. 

The  method  of  analysis  used  for  all  these  substances  consisted  in 
neutralizing  a  weighed  quantity  of  the  substance  dissolved  in  hot 
water  in  a  platinum  dish  with  a  standard  solution  of  sodic  hydrate, 
using  a  solution  of  litmus  as  the  indicator.  The  liquid  was  then 
heated  to  boiling,  more  of  the  sodic  hydrate  added,  if  the  reaction  had 
become  acid,  and  evaporated  to  dryness  on  the  water-bath,  the  residue 
treated  with  water,  and  the  silicic  dioxide  filtered  out.  The  filtrate, 
after  neutralizing  once  more  with  the  sodic  hydrate,  which  is  usually 
necessary  when  the  organic  base  is  one  with  an  alkaline  reaction, 
(NH3  or  (CH3)2NH),  is  treated  with  a  solution  of  zincic  oxide  in 
amnionic  carbonate,  evaporated  once  more  to  dryness  on  the  water- 
bath,  treated  with  water,  and  filtered ;  the  precipitate  is  dissolved  in 
strong  nitric  acid,  evaporated  to  dryness,  the  residue  after  treatment 
with  strong  nitric  acid  extracted  with  water,  and  the  silicic  dioxide 
thus  obtained  added  to  that  from  the  residue  of  the  first  evaporation, 
ignited,  and  weighed.  The  fluorine  was  usually  calculated  from  the 
amount  of  the  standard  solution  of  sodic  hydrate  necessary  for  the 
neutralization  of  the  hydrofluoric  acid  present,  but  it  was  also  occa- 


*  Laurent  and  Delbos  found  that  59.5  grm.  of  aniline  absorbed  40.5  grm. 
of  fluoride  of  silicon.     Our  formula  requires  44.3  grm. 


Calculate*!  for 

Found. 

(C0HsNH.)a(3iF4)2. 

i. 

II. 

in. 

Nitrogen 

8.62 

8.31 

Silicon 

11.50 

•      •     • 

11.75 

11.77 

Fluorine 

31.24 

•      ■      • 

31.94 

31.33 

OF   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES.  23 

sionally  determined  direct  in  the  filtrate  from  the  zincic  carbonate  and 
silicate  by  evaporating  to  dryness  in  a  platinum  crucible,  and,  after 
removing  any  slight  excess  of  sodic  carbonate  by  converting  it  into 
acetate  and  washing  with  80%  alcohol,  igniting  and  weighing  as  sodic 
fluoride. 

I.   0.2G8G  wm.  of  the  substance  gave  19.6  c.c.  of  nitrogen  at  a  tem- 

O  o  O 

perature  of  23°  and  a  pressure  of  768  mm. 
II.    0.2982  grm.  of  substance  gave  0.0751  grin,  of  silicic  dioxide  and 
0.2105  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 

III.  0.2842  grm.  of  substance  gave  0.0717  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide  and 

0.1968  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 

IV.  0.3784  grm.  of  substance  needed  for  neutralization  0.2480  grm. 

of  sodic  hydrate. 


IV. 


31.15 

Several  attempts  to  make  a  combustion  of  the  substance  have  shown 
that  great  difficulties  stand  in  the  way  of  getting  satisfactory  results, 
and,  as  the  determinations  of  nitrogen,  silicon,  and  fluorine  just  given 
are  sufficient  to  establish  its  formula  beyond  a  doubt,  we  have  not 
thought  it  worth  while  to  devote  to  the  study  of  the  conditions  of  its 
combustion  the  time  necessary  to  obtain  an  accurate  result. 

Properties.  —  The  trianiline  disilicotetrafluoride  is  a  white  semi- 
crystalline  to  amorphous  solid,  which  sublimes  in  the  neighborhood  of 
200°  without  melting.  It  is  insoluble  in  ether  (anhydrous),  benzol, 
ligroine,  chloroform,  or  carbonic  disulphide.  It  is  decomposed  very 
slowly  by  boiling  absolute  alcohol  without  any  deposition  of  silicic 
acid,  and  converted  into  aniline  fluosilicate  ;  we  have  not  succeeded  in 
bringing  the  other  product  of  this  reaction  into  a  state  fit  for  analysis ; 
it  is  a  thick  liquid,  probably  a  silicic  ethylester.  The  action  is  more 
rapid  with  alcohol  containing  water.  Water  decomposes  it  at  once 
with  deposition  of  silicic  acid,  and  the  solution  yields  on  evaporation 
aniline  fluosilicate*  in  beautiful  white  pearly  scales.  Its  identity  was 
determined  by  the  following  analysis. 

0.7488  grm.  of  substance  gave  by  precipitation  with  baric  chloride 
0.6372  grm.  of  baric  fluosilicate. 

*  W.  Knop  and  VV.  Wolf,  (Jhein.  Centralblatt,  18(52,  p.  401. 


24  PROCEEDINGS    OP   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Calculated  for 

(C,iH6NH3)2SiF6. 

Found. 

43.04 

43.30 

SiF6 

To  determine  the  proportions  in  which  the  substances  act  on  each 
other  when  water  is  added  to  the  trianiline  disilicotetrafluoride,  we 
have  studied  the  reaction  quantitatively  with  the  following  results. 

1.3092  grm.  of  the  substance  were  dissolved  in  water,  and  the  silicic 
acid  precipitated  filtered  out,  ignited,  and  weighed,  giving  0.1200  grm. 
of  silicic  dioxide.  To  the  filtrate  was  added  potassic  chloride,  and  the 
potassic  fluosilicate  formed  was  dried  at  100°  and  weighed,  giving 
0.7370  grm. 

These  numbers  agree  best  with  the  following  reaction  :  — 

4  (C6H5NH2)8(SiF4)2  +  6  H20  = 

5  (C6H5NH3)2  SiF6  +  2  CGH5NH3F  -f  3  SiO,  * 

as  is  shown  by  comparing  the  amounts  of  the  products  which  would 
be  obtained  from  100  grm.  of  trianiline  disilicotetrafluoride  according 
to  it,  and  those  which  were  actually  obtained  in  tbe  experiment  just 
described. 


Calculated  from 

the  Reaction. 

Found. 

Silicic  dioxide 

9.25 

9.17 

Aniline  fluosilicate 

84.70 

84.41 

Two  attempts  were  made  also  to  determine  the  amount  of  ani- 
line fluoride  formed  (both  by  titration  and  by  conversion  into  calcic 
fluoride)  ;  but  although  these  experiments  proved  the  presence  of  a 
fluoride,  they  gave  results  which  did  not  agree  with  each  otlier  or  with 
the  theory,  the  reason  being  without  doubt  that  a  portion  of  the  aniline 
fluoride  was  converted  into  fluosilicate  during  the  filtrations,  which  we 
had  to  carry  on  in  a  glass  funnel. 

The  action  of  ammonia  gas  upon  the  trianiline  disilicotetrafluoride 
was  studied  carefully,  since  we  hoped  that  it  might  throw  light  on  the 
constitution  of  this  substance,  and  also  that  the  corresponding  ammonia 
compound  (NH3)3(SiF4)2  might  be  formed.  Neither  of  these  hopes 
has  been  realized,  however,  for  upon  passing  ammonia  gas  over  the 
trianiline  disilicotetrafluoride  the  compound  was  decomposed  with  a 
strong  evolution  of  heat,  aniline  was  set  free,  and  the  product  was  the 


*  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  one  of  the  silicic  acids  which  was  precipitated ; 
but  as  we  do  not  know  which  one  it  was,  we  prefer  to  write  it  as  silicic  dioxide. 


OF   ARTS    AND   SCIENCES.  25 

compound  of  ammonia  and  fluoride  of  silicon  already  described  by 
J.  Davy,  as  was  proved  by  the  following  analyses,  which  also  show 
that  none  of  the  desired  substance  (NH3)3(SiF4)2  was  formed  ;  and  as 
it  was  not  obtained  under  these  conditions,  it  is  fair  to  suppose  that  it 
cannot  exist.  The  substances  for  Analyses  I.  and  II.  were  prepared 
by  washing  the  aniline  out  of  the  crude  product  of  the  reaction  with 
ligroine.  The  substance  for  Analysis  III.  was  further  purified  by 
sublimation. 

I.    0.3414  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.1496  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide 
and  0.4154  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 
II.    0.4400  grm.  gave  0.1937  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide. 

III.  0.3770  grm.  gave  0.1625  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide. 

IV.  0.1920  grm.  gave  0.0840  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

(NH3)4(SiF4)2.  I.  II.  III.  IV. 

Silicon  20.29  20.44     20.55     20.12     20.41 

Fluorine  55.07  55.03 

It  was  noticed  during  the  purification  of  this  substance  that  it  sub- 
limed at  a  much  higher  temperature  than  the  trianiline  disilicotetra- 
fluoride.  The  reaction  which  takes  place  when  trianiline  disilicotetra- 
fluoride  is  treated  with  ammonia  gas  is  the  following  : 

(C0H5NH2)3(SiF4)2  +  4NII3  =  (NH3)4(SiF4)2  +  3  CGH5NH2, 

as  was  proved  by  its  quantitative  investigation. 

2.8564  grm.  of  trianiline  disilicotetrafluoride  yielded  after  treat- 
ment with  ammonia  1.6240  grm.  of  (NH„)4(SiF4)2. 

Calculated  Percentage  according  to 

the  Reaction  given  above.  Found. 

(NH3)4(SiF4)2  56.67  56.85 

When  hydrochloric  acid  gas  is  passed  over  trianiline  disilicotetra- 
fluoride there  is  no  action  in  the  cold ;  but  if  the  substance  is  gently 
warmed,  complete  decomposition  sets  in,  aniline  chloride  sublimes  along 
the  tube  in  needles,  and  the  hydrochloric  acid  contains  fluoride  of 
silicon,  as  was  shown  by  passing  it  into  water  when  a  precipitate  of 
silicic  acid  was  formed. 

The  action  of  ethyliodide  was  also  tried.  At  100°  there  was  no 
action,  but  at  150°  a  product  was  formed  which  contained  neither 
fluorine  nor  silicon,  fluoride  of  silicon  being  given  off  when  the  tube 
was  opened.     Under  these  circumstances,  we  did  not  think  it  worth 


26  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

while  to  try  to  purify  the  residual  substance  for  analysis.  Ethylbro- 
tuide  acted  in  the  same  way,  but  with  more  difficulty.  Strong  sulphu- 
ric acid  decomposes  trianiline  disilicotetrafluoride,  giving  off  fluoride 
of  silicon.  The  action  of  the  other  common  reagents  with  this  sub- 
stance could  not  be  studied,  because  it  is  decomposed  by  water  or 
alcohol. 

Dianiline  Silicotetr  a  fluoride,  (CGH5NH2)4(SiF4)2.  —  This  substance 
was  formed  when  aniline  vapor  was  conducted  into  a  receiver  filled 
with  fluoride  of  silicon,  in  the  hope  of  preparing  a  compound  contain- 
ing a  larger  proportion  of  fluoride  of  silicon  than  that  in  the  substance 
just  described.  The  fact  that,  on  the  contrary,  a  body  richer  in  aniline 
is  formed,  is  probably  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  high  temperature  at 
which  the  union  of  the  two  substances  took  place ;  and  this  view  is 
confirmed  by  some  experiments  in  which  we  heated  the  trianiline 
disilicotetrafluoride  with  one  molecule  of  aniline  to  150°  in  a  sealed 
tube  for  about  five  hours  :  the  product  was  a  purplish  mass,  which  gave 
results  on  analysis  showing  that  a  considerable  quantity  of  aniline  had 
been  taken  up,  although  not  quite  enough  to  convert  the  trianiline 
disilicotetrafluoride  completely  into  the  dianiline  silicotetrafluoride. 
As  the  substance  prepared  directly  from  aniline  and  fluoride  of  silicon 
could  not  be  purified  on  account  of  its  slight  stability,  it  was  analyzed 
in  the  crude  state  with  the  following  results,  which  are  as  accurate  as 
could  be  expected  under  these  circumstances. 

I.    0.3803  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0826  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide 
and  0.2255  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 
II.    0.3032  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0645  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide 
and  0.1798  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

(CcII5NH,)4(SiF4)2. 

I. 

ii. 

Silicon 

9.65 

10.14 

9.93 

Fluorine 

26.20 

26.83 

26.85 

Properties.  —  It  is  a  white  powder  which  cannot  be  sublimed,  as  it 
decomposes  with  blackening  when  heated.  With  water  it  is  decom- 
posed and  dissolved  with  deposition  of  silicic  acid.  It  is  possessed  of 
but  slight  stability,  as  it  gradually  decomposes  spontaneously  even 
when  kept  in  a  corked  tube  at  ordinary  temperatures,  the  substance 
turning  yellow  and  giving  up  aniline,  which  was  extracted  with  ligro- 
ine,  and  recognized  by  its  smell  and  its  characteristic  color  with 
bleachiug-powder,  while  the  residue  was  pure  trianiline  disilicotetra- 
fluoride, as  shown  by  the  following  analyses. 


OF    ARTS    AND    SCIENCES.  27 

I.    0.2370  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0578  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide 
and  0.1637  arm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 
II.    0.1 23G  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0841  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

(C0U5NH,)3(SiF4)2.        (CGH0NH,)4(SiF4),.  I.  IL 

Silicon  11.50  9.65  11.39 

Fluorine  31.24  26.20  31.25         30.79 

In  view  of  this  decomposition  of  the  dianiline  silicotetrafluoride  into 
aniline  and  trianiline  disilicotetrafluoride,  and  also  of  the  formation  of 
the  dianiline  silicotetrafluoride  by  heating  aniline  with  trianiline  disili- 
cotetrafluoride, there  seems  no  doubt  that  the  real  formula  of  this 
substance  is  (C6H.NH2)4(SiF4)2,  that  is,  double  the  simplest  formula 
determined  by  analysis,  and  that  the  reaction  for  its  spontaneous 
decomposition  is  the  following: 

(C6H3NH2)4(SiF4)2  =  C6H5NH2-t-(C6H3NH2)3(SiF4)2. 

Action  of  Fluoride  of  Silicon  on  other  Bases. 

Triorthotoluidine  Disilicotetrafluoride,  (C7H7NH,)3(SiF4)2.  — This 
substance  was  prepared  by  passing  fluoride  of  silicon  into  a  solution  of 
orthotoluidine  in  benzol,  when  a  very  heavy  gelatinous  precipitate  was 
formed,  which  was  purified  by  washing  with  benzol  and  three  sublima- 
tions. It  can  be  formed  also  by  the  methods  given  under  the  aniline 
compound,  but  precipitation  from  a  benzol  solution  gives  the  result 
more  easily,  and  furnishes  a  purer  product.  Its  composition  was  deter- 
mined by  the  following  analyses. 

I.  0.2100  srni.  of  the  substance  £ave  0.0476  <*rm.  of  silicic  dioxide. 

II.  0.3530  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.2177  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 

III.  0.2330  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.1440  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 

IV.  0.2050  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.1266  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 

III.  IV. 

27.97       27.94 

Properties. — It  is  a  white  powder  subliming  without  melting  or 
decomposition,  like  the  corresponding  aniline  compound.  It  dissolves 
in  hot  common  alcohol,  and  the  solution  deposits  on  cooling  orthoto- 
luidine fluosilicate  in  fine  needles. 

Tri paratoluidine  Disilicotetrafluoride  (C7H.NH.1).,(SiF4).,.  —  This 
substance  was  made  and  purified  like  the  corresponding  ortho  com- 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

(C7H7ML)3(SiF4)2. 

i. 

II. 

Silicon 

10.58 

10.58 

Fluorine 

28.73 

... 

27.90 

28  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

pound,  that  is,  by  passing  fluoride  of  silicon  through  a  solution  of 
paratoluidine  in  beuzol,  but  even  after  four  sublimations  it  had  a  dis- 
tinct yellowish  color;  that  the  substance  is  essentially  pure,  however, 
in  spite  of  this  coloration,  is  shown  by  the  following  analyses. 

I.    0.1928  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0438  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide. 
II.    0.1472  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0022  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

(O^NH^SiF^j.  I.  II. 

Silicon  10.58  10.G0 

Fluorine  28.73  .   .  .  28.34 

In  properties  it  resembles  the  corresponding  ortho  compound,  but 
is  decidedly  less  stable,  showing  a  strong  tendency  to  turn  yellow  on 
standing,  and  the  paratoluidine  fluosilicate  deposited,  as  the  hot  solu- 
tion of  the  substance  in  alcohol  cools,  crystallizes  in  thick  needles. 

Trimonochlor -aniline  Disilicotetrajlaoride,  (C6H4ClNHo)3(SiF4)2.  — 
This  substance  was  made  by  passing  fluoride  of  silicon  over  para- 
chloraniline,  and  was  purified  by  sublimation.  Its  composition  was 
determined  by  the  following  analysis. 

0.4807  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0990  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide, 
and  0.2G86  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 

for 

Found. 

9.61 
25.29 

It  resembles  the  corresponding  aniline  compound  in  its  properties, 
and  forms  with  hot  alcohol  a  solution  of  the  parachloraniline  fluosili- 
cate, which  separates  as  the  solution  cools  in  beautiful  long  slender 
needles. 

Parabromaniline  forms  a  similar  compound  with  fluoride  of  silicon, 
and  gives  with  hot  alcohol  a  solution  depositing  the  parabromaniline 
fluosilicate  in  small  pearly  scales. 

With  symmetrical  tribromaniline  we  could  get  no  action,  when  we 
treated  it  with  fluoride  of  silicon,  the  result  of  the  experiment  being 
negative,  whether  it  was  acted  on  alone  in  the  solid  state,  or  fused,  or 
in  solution  in  benzol.  Symmetrical  tribromaniline  therefore  does  not 
combine  with  fluoride  of  silicon  under  the  conditions  which  bring 
about  the  union  with  it  of  all  the  other  bases  studied. 

Tridiphenylamine  Disilicotetrajluoride,  ((C6IF)2NH)3(SiF4)2.  — 
Solid  pure  diphenylamine  is  not  acted  on  by  fluoride  of  silicon ;  the 


Calculated  for 

(C6H4ClNH2)8(SiF4)2. 

Silicon 

9.48 

Fluorine 

25.75 

OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  29 

statement  made  in  a  preliminary  notice  of  this  work,  that  a  compound 
was  formed  under  these  conditions  was  incorrect,  the  diphenylamine 
used  for  that  first  experiment  being  impure.  If,  however,  fluoride  of 
silicon  is  passed  through  a  solution  of  diphenylamine  in  benzol,  a  white 
crystalline  precipitate  is  deposited  slowly,  which  was  washed  with  ben- 
zol, dried  at  100°,  and  analyzed  with  the  following  results. 

I.    0.4356  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0695  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide 
and  0.2141  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 
II.    0.4192  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.1986  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

((CGII5).,NH)3(SiF4)2.  I.  II. 

Silicon  7.83  7.44 

Fluorine  21.26  22.23         21.43 

Properties.  —  It  forms  thick  white  needles,  which  are  decomposed  by 
heat  into  fluoride  of  silicon  and  diphenylamine.  When  treated  with 
water  a  precipitate  of  diphenylamine  separates,  and  the  filtrate  con- 
tains fluosilicic  acid.  A  quantitative  study  of  the  reaction  gave  the 
following  results. 

I.    0.8135  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.5686  grm.  of  diphenylamine 
and  0.3040  grm.  of  potassic  fluosilicate. 
II.    0.4934  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.3476  grm.  of  diphenylamine. 

In  the  calculated  percentages  given  below,  it  is  assumed  that  all  the 
diphenylamine  is  separated  by  the  action  of  the  water,  and  that  four 
molecules  of  the  compound  will  yield  five  of  potassic  fluosilicate,  i.  e. 
that  the  reaction  with  water  is  analogous  to  that  of  the  corresponding 
aniline  compound. 

Calculated.  Found. 

I.  II. 

Diphenylamine  70.91  69.89  70.44 

Potassic  fluosilicate  38.50  37.37 

If,  as  the  numbers  obtained  seem  to  show,  the  reaction  is  similar  to 
that  of  the  trianiline  disilicotetrafluoride  with  water,  silicic  acid  should 
have  been  set  free;  but  no  trace  of  it  could  be  discovered,  the  solution 
being  free  from  any  precipitate  except  the  diphenylamine,  and  upon 
evaporation  to  dryness  leaving  no  residue,  while  that  silicic  acid  had 
not  been  carried  clown  by  the  diphenylamine  was  shown  by  burning 
it,  and  also  by  dissolving  it  in  benzol.  In  neither  case  did  it  leave 
a  residue.  "We  have  not  been  able  to  find  any  explanation  for  this 
curious  observation,  or  to  account  for  the  formation  of  fluosilicic  acid 


30  PROCEEDINGS    OP    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

without  the  formation  of  silicic  acid  at  the  same  time.  That  the 
soluble  product  was  principally  fluosilicic  acid  is  proved  by  the  fact 
that  it  gave  a  precipitate  with  potassic  chloride. 

Tridimethylan iline  Disilicotetr  a  fluoride,  (  Cc IT  N  (  C H„)  2) 3 (  Si F4)  2. — 
Fluoride  of  silicon  has  no  action  ou  dimethylaniline  alone,  but,  if  the 
gas  is  passed  through  a  solution  of  dimethylaniline  in  benzol,  a  floccu- 
lent  precipitate  is  formed,  which  is  gradually  converted  into  a  gummy 
mass  that  crystallizes  on  standing.  The  crystals  were  purified  by 
washing  with  benzol  and  ligroine,  dried  at  100°,  and  analyzed. 

0.1 0G6  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0220  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide 
and  0.0584  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

(C6HBN(CH3)2)3(SiF4)2. 

Silicon  9.81  9.63 

Fluorine  26.62  24.77 

The  number  for  the  fluorine  is  far  from  satisfactory,  which  is  ac- 
counted for  by  the  difficulty  of  purifying  this  decidedly  unmanageable 
substance.  It  is,  however,  near  enough  to  show  that  the  substauce 
can  have  no  other  composition  than  that  assigned  to  it  by  us. 

Properties.  —  It  forms  an  indistinct  crystalline  mass,  which  is  de- 
composed by  heat,  and  gives  no  stable  fluosilicate,  when  treated  with 
alcohol. 

Trichinoline  Disilicotetrafluoride,  (C0HrN)3  (SiF4)2.  —  Chinoline 
alone  is  not  acted  on  by  fluoride  of  silicon  ;  but,  if  the  gas  is  passed 
through  a  solution  of  chinoline  in  benzol,  a  gummy  precipitate  is 
formed  at  first,  which  becomes  gradually  converted  into  needle-shaped 
crystals.  The  product  was  purified  by  washing  with  benzol  or  ligro- 
ine, and  dried  at  100°.  The  same  substance  is  obtained  when  chino- 
line fluosilicate  is  sublimed,  and  the  analysis  numbered  II.  is  of  a 
preparation  made  in  this  way. 

I.    0.1634  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0323  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide. 
II.    0.0730  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0404  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

(09H7N)3(SiF4)2. 

I.                      II. 

Silicon 

9.41 

9.23 

Fluorine 

25.55 

25.0: 

Properties.  —  It  crystallizes  in  needles,  and  sublimes  without  melt- 
ing, or  decomposition.     Although  hot  alcohol  usually  decomposes  it, 


Calculated  for 

(C9II7N)3(SiF4)2. 

Silicon 

9.41 

Fluorine 

23.55 

OP    ARTS    AND    SCIENCES.  31 

as  described  below,  on  one  occasion  it  dissolved  it  without  decomposi- 
tion, and  this  solution  gave  on  cooling  thick  needles,  which  gave  the 
following  results  on  analysis. 

0.0903  grin,  of  the  substance  gave  0.0176  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide  and 
0.0506  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 

Calculated  for 

Found. 

9.10 

25.38 

On  addition  of  water  the  substance  analyzed  was  decomposed  with 
deposition  of  silicic  acid.  We  have  not  succeeded,  however,  in  re- 
peating this  experiment,  as  in  all  other  cases  the  product  from  the 
action  of  hot  alcohol  has  been  chinoline  fluosilicate,  which  crystallizes 
in  long  thick  needles,  as  the  solution  cools,  and  gives  a  clear  solution 
with  water.  Its  composition  was  determined  by  the  following  anal- 
yses of  the  substance  purified  by  two  crystallizations. 

I.    0.1244  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0200  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide. 
II.    0.2054  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0325  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide 
and  0.1254  sfrm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

(C9H7N)2H2SiFc. 

i. 

II. 

Silicon 

6.96 

7.50 

7.38 

Fluorine 

28.35 

... 

27.64 

The  trichinoline  disilicotetrafluoride  resembles  the  corresponding 
aniline  compound  closely  in  its  properties. 

Didhnethylamine  Silicotetrafluor ide,  ((CH3)2NH)4(SiF4)2-  —  When 
dry  dimethylamine  (prepared  according  to  Baeyer  and  Caro)  was 
mixed  with  fluoride  of  silicon,  a  white  powder  was  deposited,  which 
wras  analyzed  in  the  crude  state,  since  it  could  not  be  purified  because 
of  its  very  slight  stability. 

0.2320  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0740  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide 
and  0.2038  srrm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 

ted  for 

Found. 

14.89 
39.75 

Properties.  —  A  white  solid,  which  like  the  corresponding  compound 
of  aniline  is  very  unstable,  decomposing  spontaneously  at  ordinary 


Calculated  for 

((CH3)2NH)4(SiF4)2. 

Silicon 

14.43 

Fluorine 

39.17 

32  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

temperatures  into  dimethylamine  and  the  following  compound,  —  a 
decomposition  which  is  hastened  by  heat. 

Tridimethylamine  Disilicotetrafluoride,  ((CH3)2NH),(SiF4)2. —  This 
substance  was  made  by  subliming  the  compound  just  described,  when 
dimethylamine  was  given  off  as  a  secondary  product.  It  was  purified 
by  a  second  sublimation,  and  its  composition  determined  by  the  fol- 
lowing analyses. 

I.    0.1871  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0660  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide. 
II.    0.2800  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0960  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide 
and  0.2694  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 


Calculated  for 

Fo 

und 

((CH3)2NH)3(SiF4)2. 

I. 

II. 

Silicon 

16.33 

16.46 

16.00 

Fluorine 

44.31 

... 

43.53 

Properties.  —  It  is  a  white  powder  resembling  the  corresponding 
aniline  compound  in  appearance  and  behavior  when  heated,  although 
it  sublimes  at  a  higher  temperature.  It  also  differs  from  the  aniline 
compound  in  being  deliquescent. 

Finally,  we  may  add  the  following  experiments,  which  gave  pro- 
ducts of  so  little  promise  that  we  did  not  attempt  to  analyze  them, 
but  which  show  that  fluoride  of  silicon  acts  also  on  alkaloids,  and  on 
amides  which  can  form  salts. 

Fur/urine,  when  treated  in  benzol  solution  with  fluoride  of  silicon, 
gave  a  gummy  mass  similar  to  that  obtained  from  dimethylaniline, 
which  however  did  not  crystallize  on  standing. 

Dry  powdered  urea  was  converted  by  fluoride  of  silicon  into  a  pasty 
mass,  which  was  decomposed  with  evolution  of  ammonia,  when  the 
attempt  was  made  to  sublime  it.  The  sublimate  contained  fluorine 
and  silicon,  but  we  did  not  continue  the  study  of  it,  as  we  had  no 
guaranty  that  it  was  a  homogeneous  substance. 

Constitution  op  the  Silicotetrafltjorides. 

Although  we  have  not  succeeded  in  obtaining  an  absolute  direct 
proof  of  the  constitution  of  the  substances  described  in  this  paper, 
we  have  been  able  to  reduce  the  possible  formulas  that  can  be  as- 
signed to  them  to  a  very  small  number  by  the  following  course  of 
reasoning.  In  the  first  place,  we  assume  that  all  the  substances 
described  in  this  paper,  which  contain  three  molecules  of  the  base 
combined  with  two  of  fluoride  of  silicon,  have  the  same  constitution, 
an  assumption  which  is  justified  by  the  fact  that  they  are  all  made 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  33 

by  the  direct  addition  of  fluoride  of  silicon  to  the  base,  and  also  by  the 
strong  resemblance  in  their  properties,  the  differences  observed  being 
such  as  might  well  occur  among  substances  belonging  to  the  same 
class. 

Upon  considering,  in  general,  the  way  in  which  the  fluoride  of  sili- 
con could  attach  itself  to  a  base,  we  have  been  able  to  find  only  three 
probable  methods,  which  we  will  proceed  to  discuss  as  applied  to  our 
compounds,  (a.)  By  replacing  the  hydrogen  of  the  amido  group, 
forming  a  substance  which  would  be  at  once  an  anilid  and  a  fluosili- 
cate.  This  method  would  seem  at  first  sight  the  most  probable,  es- 
pecially since  A.  Harden  *  has  found  that  chloride  of  silicon  gives 
with  aniline  SiCl2(NHCGH.)2  and  aniline  chloride ;  but  this  mode  of 
union  is  impossible,  since  both  chinoline  and  dimethylaniline,  which 
contain  no  hydrogen  attached  to  their  nitrogen,  form  compounds  of 
this  class,  (b.)  By  the  action  of  the  fluoride  of  silicon  on  the  benzol 
ring,  forming  a  substance  analogous  to  pararosaniline  fluosilicate. 
This  hypothesis,  which  is  improbable  on  account  of  the  ease  with 
which  the  substances  are  broken  up  by  water,  is  rendered  entirely 
inadmissible  by  the  formation  of  the  dimethylamine  compound,  which 
contains  no  ring,  (c.)  On  the  supposition  that  the  fluoride  of  silicon 
combines  with  the  base  to  form  a  sort  of  salt,  this  view  is  the  only 
one  compatible  with  our  results,  and  its  correctness  is  confirmed  by 
the  observation  that  all  the  substances  tried  formed  salts  with  one 
exception,  tribromaniline,  and  that  this  was  the  only  one  which  did 
not  form  a  silicotetrafluoride ;  further,  the  stability  of  the  silicotetra- 
fluorides  keeps  pace  with  the  stability  of  the  salts  of  the  bases,  those 
like  aniline,  the  two  toluidines,  parachloraniline,  chinoline,  and  dime- 
thylamine, which  form  stable  salts,  giving  silicotetrafluorides,  which  can 
be  sublimed  without  decomposition,  whereas  diphenylamine  and  di- 
methylaniline gave  compounds  decomposed  by  heat.  That  the  salts  of 
diphenylamine  are  unstable,  being  decomposed  by  water,  is  well 
known,  and  although  we  have  not  been  able  to  find  any  published 
statement  about  the  salts  of  dimethylaniline  that  would  imply  they  are 
unstable,  our  own  work  has  furnished  the  proof  that  the  fluosilicate  at 
least  is  less  stable  than  that  of  aniline,  as  only  the  products  of  the 
decomposition  of  the  fluosilicate  were  obtained,  when  water  was  added 
to  the  tridimethylaniline  disilicotetrafluoride. 

We  infer,  then,  from  the  arguments  given  above,  that  the  nitrogen  in 
the  silicotetrafluorides  is  in  the  quinquivalent  condition,  and  think  it 

*  J.  Lond.  Chem.  Soc,  1887,  i.  40. 

VOL.  XXIII.  (N.  S.  XV.)  3 


34  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

most  probable  that  one  of  the  two  additional  bonds  is  satisfied  by  sili- 
con, the  other  by  fluorine,  and  that  the  following  graphic  formula  re- 
presents its  constitution.  It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that 
this  formula  is  only  the  most  probable  one,  for,  as  already  stated,  we 
have  been  able  to  bring  no  absolute  proof  of  its  correctness. 

Hg  =  -pg--C6H6 
C6H*  -  JN  —  F2  —  Si F2  — —  Si  —  F2  —  JN  —  C6V 

If  this  formula  is  adopted,  the  formation  of  the  silicotetrafluorides 
can  be  explained  in  the  following  way.  In  the  first  place  one  mole- 
cule of  the  fluoride  of  silicon  acts  upon  one  molecule  of  the  base  to 
give  the  group 

C6H6-ll  -F 

and,  although  this  mode  of  union  seems  strange  at  first  sight,  it  is  not 
without  analogy,  if  we  consider  the  close  relationship  of  silicon  and 
carbon,  as  then  it  is  similar  to  the  formation  of  ammonium  salts  by  the 
action  of  methyliodide  on  a  base,  as  shown  by  the  following  re- 
actions : 

C6H5NH2  +  CH3I  -  C6H5  -  IN  -  I 

H-  =  AT  -  SiF3 . 

iF.,F  =  CaHs  -  IN  -  F 


CGH5NH2  +  SiF8*  .=  ^5 
Since  the  group 

CfiHs-lN   -F 


■^"s 


is  at  once  a  fluoride  and  a  substituted  fluoride  of  silicon,  an  action 
next  takes  place  similar  to  the  formation  of  a  fluosilicate  from  a  fluo- 
ride and  fluoride  of  silicon,  thus  : 

C6H;  -  N  -  F1  3  =  C6Hs  -  ]N-F=F-  Si  =  Fs  ; 


K  — F  =  F— CI    _v 

4  =  K  —  F  =  F  —  Oi  ~~     2  * 


2  KF  +  SiF 

In  this  reaction  the  formation  is  assumed  of  the  bivalent  radical  F2n, 
which  has  been  proved  to  exist  in  hydrofluoric  acid  by  Mallet's  de- 
termination* of  the  vapor-density  leading  to  the  formula  H2F2,  and 
the  assumption  of  the  presence  of  which  in  fluosilicic  acid  explains  its 
relation  to  silicic  acid  in  the  most  satisfactory  way.     The  substance 

*  Am.  Chem.  J.,  iii.  189. 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  35 

C6Hg  —  JN   -  Fo—  Oi  =  F2 

next  acts  on  another  molecule  of  the  base  in  the  same  way  that  the 
fluoride  of  silicon  did  originally,  forming 

Ho  =  AT  —  CSH5 

H2  =  AJ 0--JN  -F6    5; 

C6II5  — il   —  F2—  Oi-F 

but  it  would  seem  that  the  acid  nature  of  the  silicon  has  been  so 
weakened  by  the  introduction  of  two  aniline  molecules,  that  the  atom 
of  fluorine  left  attached  to  the  silicon  cannot  combine  with  the  fluorine 
attached  to  the  nitrogen,  and  therefore  this  latter  is  saturated  by 
the  more  acid  fluorine  of  a  fluoride  of  silicon  carrying  only  one  aniline 
molecule,  thus : 

H2  =  AT  -  C6HS 

H2 
C6H5-±^|        F2-k3i-F  TF-Oi  —  F2-±T|   --C6H5 


-  JN  -Fo-  Oi  -  F  +  F  -  Si-F2-  N  - 

H„=XT-C6H5 
.H?  — JN   — F2—  fei  — F  F— fei  — Fo  — JN  — a 


C6H^  — ±1   -_F2-Oi  — F  F_Oi  —  Fo  —  JlX  --CBH6" 

If  then  the  two  atoms  of  fluorine  remaining  attached  simply  to  silicon 
are  united,  the  formula  given  above  is  constructed.  Our  only  reason 
for  joining  these  last  atoms  of  fluorine  is  that  it  makes  the  molecule 
more  symmetrical,  but  it  is  also  possible  that  they  remain  univalent. 

Turning  next  to  the  compounds  formed  by  the  union  of  the  base 
and  fluoride  of  silicon  in  the  proportion  of  two  molecules  of  the  for- 
mer to  one  of  the  latter ;  as  has  been  already  argued,  it  is  necessary 
to  double  the  simplest  formula  which  can  be  assigned  to  these  sub- 
stances, because  they  break  up  into  the  free  base  and  the  compound  of 
three  molecules  of  the  base  to  two  of  fluoride  of  silicon,  and  also  be- 
cause they  can  be  formed  by  a  reaction  the  reverse  of  this  decompo- 
sition. If,  then,  the  formula  discussed  above  is  given  to  the  trianiline 
disilicotetrafluoride,  the  formula  of  the  dianiline  silicotetrafluoride 
must  be 

Ho  =  AT-C6H5 

C6Hs  — JN  —  F2  —  fei  —  F2  —  "VT  —  fch  —  F2  —  JN  —  C6H5' 


CfiHs 


and  the  very  slight  stability  of  the  substance  can  be  explained  by  the 
neutralization  of  the  acid  properties  of  the  silicon  and  fluorine,  already 
alluded  to,  by  the  introduction  of  so  many  molecules  of  base,  which 
makes  them  hold  the  last  molecule  of  the  base  with  comparatively 


36  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

little  force.  On  the  other  hand,  we  have  not  been  able  to  find  any 
explanation  for  the  stability  of  the  compound  derived  from  ammonia, 
as  the  only  one  we  could  think  of  —  viz.  that  the  ammonia  being  a 
stronger  base  than  aniline  would  attach  itself  more  firmly  to  the 
slightly  acid  molecule  —  is  rendered  inadmissible  by  the  slight  stability 
of  the  compound  made  from  dimethylamine,  a  base  nearly,  if  not  quite, 
as  strong  as  ammonia  itself.  It  is  possible  that  the  ammonia  com- 
pound has  an  entirely  different  constitution  from  the  compounds  of  the 
organic  bases,  but  we  have  no  experimental  material  for  testing  the  cor- 
rectness of  this  hypothesis  except  Mixter's  determination  *  of  the  vapor 
density  of  this  substance,  which  showed  that  it  was  dissociated  into 
four  volumes  of  ammonia  and  two  of  fluoride  of  silicon,  and  therefore 
that  the  simplest  formula  of  the  ammonia  compound  must  be  doubled, 
which  would  look  as  if  it  had  a  constitution  similar  to  the  organic 
compounds. 

We  may  add  that  Harden  f  obtained  by  the  action  of  chloride  of 
silicon  on  pyridine,  or  chinoline  compounds  (C5H5N)2SiCl4,  and 
(C9H7N)2SiCl4 ;  but  as  they  give  up  chloride  of  silicon  spontaneously, 
it  is  probable  that  they  are  not  analogous  in  constitution  to  our  sub- 
stances. 

The  study  of  the  action  of  fluoride  of  silicon  on  organic  bases  will 
be  continued  by  one  of  us  in  this  Laboratory. 

*  Am.  Chem.  J.,  ii.  153. 

t  J.  Lond.  Chem.  Soc,  1887,  i.  40. 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  37 


V. 
CATALOGUE  OF  ALL  RECORDED  METEORITES, 

WITH   A  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  SPECIMENS   IN  THE   HARVARD 

COLLEGE   COLLECTION,  INCLUDING  THE  CABINET  OF 

THE  LATE  J.   LAWRENCE   SMITH. 

By  Oliver  Whipple  Huntington,  Ph.  D., 

Instructor  in  Mineralogy  and  Chemistry. 

Presented  June  15, 1887. 

The  nucleus  of  the  collection  of  meteorites  in  the  Mineralogical 
Museum  of  Harvard  College  was  a  small  collection  made  by  Professor 
Cooke,  and  representing  altogether  about  fifty  falls.  In  October,  1883, 
the  well-known  collection  of  J.  Lawrence  Smith  was  purchased  for 
the  College  by  subscription.  Professor  Smith,  being  anxious  that  the 
collection  should  be  kept  together,  himself  subscribed  for  the  purchase. 
The  following  are  the  names  of  the  subscribers  :  — 

J.  Lawrence  Smith.  H.  H.  Hunnewell. 

Josiah  P.  Cooke.  Martin  Brimmer. 

Alexander  Agassiz.  Henry  P.  Kidder. 

Anne  Wigglesworth.  George  H.  Norman. 

With  this  addition  the  collection  has  become  worthy  of  special 
notice,  and  is  very  rich  in  iron  meteorites,  of  which  about  one  hundred 
falls  are  represented,  including  several  large  individual  specimens. 
The  collection  contains  many  fine  examples  of  large  cleavage  crys- 
tals, which  have  been  studied  with  great  care,  and  are  particularly 
described  in  this  catalogue.  It  contains  also  numerous  etched  slabs, 
and  in  describing  these  attention  is  called  to  the  character  of  the 
figures,  and  also  to  the  variation  of  these  figures,  not  only  on  different 
sections  of  the  same  meteorite,  but  frequently  on  different  parts  of  the 
same  section. 

The  collection  of  stones  is  not  nearly  so  complete  as  that  of  the 
irons,  and  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  study  their  structure,  or  to 


38  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

classify  them  lithologically,  which  has  already  been  so  admirably  done 
by  Tschermak  and  Brezina.  In  this  catalogue  no  natural  system  of 
classification  has  been  attempted,  but  the  falls  have  been  arranged 
chronologically,  and,  in  the  absence  of  any  generally  accepted  system, 
this  appears  to  be  the  most  convenient  order  for  reference. 

In  the  arrangement  of  the  catalogue,  the  left-hand  column  gives 
the  dates  of  fall  or  find  of  all  recorded  meteorites,  and  in  making  out 
this  list  the  catalogues  of  all  the  well-known  museums  were  consulted  ; 
but  where  there  were  discrepancies  the  catalogue  of  the  Vienna  Col- 
lection was  followed,  in  absence  of  positive  evidence  derived  from 
original  authorities.  In  the  case  of  observed  falls,  the  dates  given 
must  be  very  generally  correct.  It  is  quite  different,  however,  with 
the  "  date  of  find,"  and  we  were  constantly  unable  to  reconcile  the 
conflicting  evidence  on  this  point,  which  greatly  interferes  with  the 
definiteness  of  a  chronological  arrangement. 

The  numbers  in  the  second  column,  which  we  may  call  the  cata- 
logue numbers,  designate  the  successive  falls  thus  chronologically 
arranged.  On  the  same  line  with  the  catalogue  number  is  given  the 
locality,  the  names  by  which  the  meteorite  is  commonly  known  being 
printed  in  small  capitals  ;  and  these  names  alone  appear  in  the  index. 
In  the  third  column  are  given  the  weights  of  the  various  specimens  in 
the  Harvard  collection,  and,  at  the  right,  a  brief  description  of  them. 
Before  the  description  of  the  largest  specimen  under  each  fall,  it  is 
stated  whether  the  specimen  is  an  iron  or  a  stone,  without  any  attempt 
at  a  more  exact  specification,  the  object  being  merely  to  assist  in  the 
identification.  In  order  to  add  authority  to  the  catalogue,  after  the 
description  of  each  specimen  it  is  stated  in  brackets  from  whence  it 
came  into  the  possession  of  the  College. 

As  it  was  found  impossible  to  reconcile  the  statements  of  different 
catalogues  in  regard  to  pseudo-meteorites,  no  separate  list  of  them  has 
been  made,  but  the  opinions  which  we  have  formed  in  regard  to  the 
specimens  in  the  Harvard  collection  are  expressed  in  the  context.  It 
is  impossible  in  this  collection,  as  it  must  be  in  others,  to  establish  be- 
yond doubt  the  authenticity  of  some  of  the  specimens,  and  discrep- 
ancies may  readily  arise  on  this  account. 

The  specimens  starred  in  the  catalogue  are  duplicates  intended  for 
exchange,  but  will  only  be  exchanged  for  masses  of  approximately 
similar  weight  and  value. 

The  Harvard  Cabinet  also  contains  a  great  quantity  of  the  Green- 
land iron,  together  with  the  associated  rocks,  which  we  hope  to  de- 
scribe in  detail  in  a  subsequent  paper. 


OF    ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  39 

The  alphabetical  index  appended  to  this  catalogue  includes  all  the 
names  by  which  the  meteorites  are  commonly  known,  and  refers  both 
to  the  page  and  catalogue  number. 

Figures  illustrating  some  of  the  most  striking  examples  of  crystalline 
structure  have  been  grouped  in  five  plates,  and  are  referred  to  in  the 
catalogue  by  numbers.  On  the  plates,  in  connection  with  the  number 
of  the  figure,  is  also  given  the  number  of  the  page  on  which  the  speci- 
men is  described. 

Although  great  care  has  been  taken  in  the  preparation  of  the  cata- 
logue, and  many  of  the  mistakes  of  previous  catalogues  have  been 
corrected,  yet  the  writer  fears  that  many  of  the  data  which  have  been 
accepted  on  the  best  authority  may  be  erroneous,  and  that  this  cata- 
logue is  by  no  means  perfect.  Even  in  regard  to  the  circumstances 
of  an  observed  fall,  entire  reliance  can  seldom  be  placed  on  the  testi- 
mony of  the  original  observers,  who  are  often  untrained,  and  over- 
powered by  the  startling  phenomena ;  and  there  is  frequently  the 
difficulty  of  reconciling  conflicting  testimony.  The  connection  between 
the  fire-ball  which  attracted  attention  and  the  meteorite  subsequently 
found  is  often  only  assumed,  and  not  established. 

The  facts  connected  with  the  discovery  of  a  meteorite  are  often 
more  difficult  to  determine  than  those  of  an  authentic  fall.  The  only 
date  which  should  be  recognized  is  that  of  the  publication  in  which 
the  meteoric  origin  of  the  mass  is  first  recognized ;  but  after  this  is 
made  known,  it  often  appears  that  the  specimen  had  been  seen  several 
years  previously,  and  the  discovery  has  been  frequently  antedated  on 
the  ground  of  such  uncertain  evidence.  Again,  it  is  often  difficult  to 
decide,  especially  in  the  case  of  meteoric  irons,  whether  they  really 
represent  distinct  falls.  In  some  cases,  pieces  obviously  of  the  same 
fall  have  become  scattered  over  quite  wide  geographical  areas,  either 
as  the  result  of  successive  explosions  during  the  original  flight  of  the 
meteorite,  or  else  because  distributed  by  human  agency  on  account  of 
some  supposed  value  or  sacred  association.  Moreover,  the  artificial 
value  which  rare  meteoric  specimens  have  acquired  naturally  inclines 
collectors  to  regard  each  new  find  as  a  distinct  fall,  and  to  enhance  the 
value  of  the  specimen  by  keeping  it  undivided.  Such,  and  many  other 
questions,  which  could  not  be  settled  with  the  limited  means  afforded 
even  by  so  large  a  collection  as  that  of  Harvard  College,  have  arisen 
in  the  preparation  of  this  catalogue.  Still,  it  is  hoped  that  the  work 
may  be  found  of  value  in  verifying  and  extending  the  history  of  these 
remarkable  bodies. 


40  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Prehistoric.     Found  on  the  altar  of  an  Indian  mound   in  Ohio, 

U.  S. A. 
LaCaille.    Etched  face  cut  parallel  to  an  assumed  cube  plane,  and 

showing  in  section  plates  parallel  to  the  regular  dodecahedron  octa- 
hedron and  twin  octahedron. 
Coahuila  or  Butcher  Iron.     Printed  directly  from  an  etched  slab 

of  the  meteorite,  showing  Neumann  lines. 
Coahuila  or  Butcher  Iron.    Enlarged  sketch,  a  cleavage  crystal, 

a  portion  of  a  twin  cube,  with  an  octahedral  modification. 
Coahuila  or  Butcher  Iron.     Cleavage  crystal  showing  how  the 

Neumann  lines  can  all  be  referred  to  a  cube  with  twin  members  on 

all  of  the  trigonal  axes. 
Putnam  County.     Etched  face  of  a   natural  octahedron,  showing 

Widmanstiittian  plates,  and  at  the  same  time  a  granular  structure. 
Careyfort,  De  Kalb  County.     Showing   the  etched  figures  on  a 

surface  cut  parallel  to  a  natural  octahedral  face. 
Braunau.     Showing  twinning  lines  as  they  appear  on  a  natural  cube 

face. 
Cranberry  Plains.     Two  faces  of  a  natural  octahedron,  showing  on 

one  side  bent  plates,  and  on  the  other  only  a  mottled  surface. 
Knoxville,  Tazewell  County.     An  etched  face,  showing  verj'  fine 

octahedral  crystallization. 
Coopertown,  Robertson  County.     Showing  etched  figures  on  an 

octahedral  face,  and  a  face  cut  at  right  angles.     The  plates  lettered 

a  are  cubic,  those  lettered  b  dodecahedral,  and  the  rest  octahedral. 
Fig.  12.     Russel  Gulch.     Printed  directly  from  an  etched  slab,  showing  bent 

Widmanstattian  plates. 
Fig.  13.    Frankfort,  Franklin  County.     Large  cleavage  octahedron. 
Fig.  14.     Barranca  Bianca.    Etched  face,  showing  very  striking  figures. 
Fig.  15.    Butler,  Bates  County.     Shows  an  etched  face  with  Widmanstattian 

figures,  extending  to  the  finest  Neumann  lines.     The  small  figure 

at  the  left,  shows  one  face  of  a  very  perfect  cleavage  octahedron 

with  octahedral  and  dodecahedral  markings. 
Fig.  16.    Mica  from  Chandler's   Hollow,  Delaware,  with  depositions  of 

magnetite  along  the    planes   of  crystalline  growth,  showing  the 

formation  of  figures  similar  to  the  Widmanstattian,  by  the  exclusion 

of  foreign  material  in  the  process  of  crystallization. 


Fig. 

1. 

Fig. 

2. 

Fig. 

3. 

Fig. 

4. 

Fig. 

5. 

Fig. 

6. 

Fig. 

7. 

Fig. 

8. 

Fig. 

9. 

Fig. 

10. 

Fig. 

11. 

Plate  I. 


Fig.  2. 


Fig.  1. 


Prehistoric.     Page  41. 


k* 

La  Caille.     Page  42 


Coahuila  (Butcher  Iron).     Page  59. 
FlG-  4-  Fig.  6. 


Coahuila  (Butcher  Iron).    Page  59. 


Putnam  County.     Page  61. 


Plate  II. 


Fig.  5. 


Fig.  8. 


Braunau  ( Hauptmannsdorf). 
Page  68. 


Knoxville  (Tazewell  Co.).    Page 72. 

Fig.  9. 


Coahuila  (Butcher  Iron).     Page  59. 


Cranberry  Plains.     Page  70. 


Fig.  7. 


Careyfort  (T)e  Kalb  Co.)     Page  64. 


Plate  III. 


Fig.  11. 


Coopertovvn,  Robertson  County.     Page  79. 


Fig.  12. 


Barranca  Blanca.     Page  86. 


Russel  Gulch.     Page  83. 


Plate  IV. 


Fig.  13. 


Franklin  County.     Pasre  86. 


Plate  V. 

Fig.  15. 


Butler  (Rates  Co.).     Paee  92. 
Fig.  16. 


£1?W\ 


Mica  from  Chandler's  Hollow  (Delaware).      Page  40. 


OF   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES. 


41 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Prehistoric. 


Prehistoric. 


Fell  1164. 
Found  1751. 


Fell  1164? 
Found  1847. 


No. 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


187 


29.5 


225.3 


38 


13 


Description. 


Anderson,  Little  Miami  Valley, 
Ohio,  U.  S.  A. 

Found  on  the  altar  of  Mound  No.  4 
of  the  Turner  Group  of  earthworks  in 
Little  Miami  Valley. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  original 
mass.  One  polished  face.  Structure 
closely  resembling  the  Pallas  iron. 
[From  the  Peabody  Museum.] 

*  Full-sized  slab, polished  and  etched, 
differing  from  the  Pallas  and  Atacama 
meteorites  in  showing,  occasionally, 
well-marked  Widmanstattian  plates, 
crossing  completely  the  iron  portions, 
without  regard  to  the  more  minutely 
crystallized  parts,  as  shown  in  the 
accompanying  diagram,  Fig.  1.  [From 
the  Peabody  Museum.] 

Anderson,  Little  Miami  Valley, 
Ohio,  U.  S.  A. 

Found  on  the  altar  of  Mound  No.  3 
of  the  Turner  Group. 

Mass  of  iron,  with  one  face  cut  and 
etched,  showing  figures  closely  re- 
sembling those  of  the  Coahuila  irons. 
[From  the  Peabody  Museum.'] 

Steinbach,  Saxony. 

Network  of  iron,  enclosing  olivine 
grains.  One  face  polished  and  etched, 
the  iron  showing  well-marked  Widman- 
stattian figures,  about  like  Jewell  Hill 
or  Obernkirchen.  [Smith  Collection. 
From  W.  NevileJ] 

Rittersgrun,  Erzgebirge,  Saxony. 

Slab  polished  and  etched  on  all  but 
one  edge,  where  it  shows  the  crust. 
Same  network  of  iron  enclosing  grains 
of  olivine  and  magnetite.  [Purchased 
from  the  Liebener  Collection.] 

*  Similar  to  the  previous  polished 
slab.  [Smith  Collection.  From  James 
R.  Gregory.] 

*  Only  one  face  polished,  the  rest 
crust.     [Srnith  Collection.] 


42 


PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Fell  1164? 

Found  1861, 


Fell  1400? 
Recognized  1811 


Fell  1492. 

Nov.  16,  12J  p.  m. 


Known  in  1600? 
Recognized  1828. 


No. 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


61 

60 


147 
23.2 


09 


8.4 


304.2 


Description. 


Breitenbach,  Platten,  Bohemia. 

Four  polished  faces  cut  at  right  an- 
gles to  each  other,  and  the  rest  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.     From  Wohler.] 

*  Like  the  previous  specimen.  [-Smith 
Collection.     From  Wohler.] 

Ragged  specimen,  appearing  rough- 
er than  the  specimens  of  Steinbach  and 
Rittersgriin,  and  showing  beautiful  glas- 
sy crystals  of  olivine,  highly  modified. 
All  the  specimens  of  this  group  have 
effusions  of  chloride  of  iron.  [Smith 
Collection.     From  Wohler. J 

Elbogen,  Bohemia. 

Iron.  One  large  polished  surface, 
the  rest  showing  crust.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.'] 

*  Beautifully  etched  slab,  showing 
well  marked  Widmanstattian  figures. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Ensisheim,  Elsass,  Germany. 

Stone.  One  polished  surface,  show- 
ing a  mass  of  iron  in  one  part,  and  iron 
grains  distributed  through  the  rest. 
[Smith  Collection.     From  Wohler.] 

Irregular  fragment.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion,    From  Wohler.] 

La  Caille,  near  Grasse,  Alpes  Mari- 
times,  France. 

For  about  two  centuries  it  was  in 
front  of  the  church  of  La  Caille,  and 
was  used  as  a  seat.  Its  meteoric  origin 
was  recognized  by  Brard  in  1828. 

Highly  crystalline  iron.  Shows  three 
natural  octahedral  faces,  and  one  do- 
decahedral  face  an  inch  in  diameter, 
which  is  exactly  at  145°  with  an  adja- 
cent octahedral  face  as  shown  by  an  ap- 
plication goniometer.  This  face,  being 
a  single  plate,  shows  no  figures  when 
etched,  but  only  a  mottled  appearance. 
Fig.  2  shows  of  original  size  an  etched 
face  of  this  specimen,  cut  parallel  to  an 
assumed  cube  face.  There  is  also  an- 
other etched  face  cut  at  right  angles  to 
the  one  in  the  figure,  so  that  the  direc- 
tion of  the  plates  may  be  observed.     In 


.1 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


43 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 
Grams. 

Description. 

Fig.  2  octahedral  plates  appeal-  in  sec- 

tion running  parallel  to  a  c  and  c  d, 

while    those    in   the  direction  a  b  are 

parallel  to  the  dodecahedron,  and  those 

in  the  direction  c  e,  making  an  angle  of 

66°  19'  with  c  d,  are  plates  of  the  twin 

octahedron.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1668. 

June. 

7 

Vago,  near  Caldiero,  Verona,  Italy. 

Fell  1715. 

8 

Schellin,  Garz,  near  Stargard,  Pomera- 

April  11,  4  P.M. 

nia,  Prussia. 

Fell  1723. 

9 

Ploschkowitz,  Reichstadt,  Bohemia. 

June  22. 

Fell  about  1730. 

10 

Ogi,  Kiusiu,  Japan. 

Found  1719. 

11 

Medwedewa,  Krasnojarsk,  Siberia. 
(The  Pallas  iron.) 

172 

Ragged  mass,  with  one  surface  cut 
and  polished,  showing  network  of  iron 
enclosing  olivine  grains.  [Purchased 
from  Louis  Saemann,  Paris.] 

9 

*  Ragged  specimen,  most  of  the  oli- 
vine having  fallen  out.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.    From  Louis  Saemann.] 

54.5 

*  Ragged  specimen,  like  the  above. 
[Purchased  from  Louis  Saemann.] 

Fell  1751. 

12 

Agram,  Hraschina,  Croatia.    First  iron 

May  26,  6  p.  M. 

seen  to  fall. 

6.3 

Thin  plate,  polished  on  one  side  and 
etched  on  the  other,  showing  fine  Wid- 
manstattian  figures.    [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1753. 

13 

Krawin,  Tabor,  near  Plan  and  Strkow, 

July  3,  8  p.  m. 

Bohemia. 

14.3 

Gray  stone,  full  of  rusty  iron  grains. 
Three  cut  faces  at  right  angles,  the  rest 
showing  dull,  black  crust.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

Fell  1753. 

14 

Luponnas,  Ain,  France. 

Sept.  7,  1  p.  m. 

Known  1763. 

15 

Siratik,  Senegal,  West  Africa. 

22.8 

Iron.  Etched  surface  appears  mot- 
tled, with  occasional  fine  lines,  but  on 
being  magnified  the  entire  surface 
shows  minute  crystallization.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

44 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 

Description. 

16 

Grams. 

Fell  17G6. 

Albareto,  Modena,  Italy. 

Middle  of  July,  5  p.  m. 

Fell  1768. 

17 

Luce  (Maine),  Sarthe,  France. 

Sept.  13,  4£  P.  m. 

Fell  17G8. 

18 

Mauerkirohen,  Bavaria,  now  Austria. 

Nov.  20,  4  p.  m. 

9 

Stone.      Light  gray,  with  fine  iron 
grains.     Irregular  fragment,  showing 
dull  black  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1773. 

19 

Sena,  Sigena,  Aragon,  Spain. 

Nov.  17, 12  a.m. 

Found  1783. 

20 

Campo  del  Cielo,  Otumpa,  Tucuman, 

Argentine  Republic,  South  America. 

149 

Iron.     Irregular  slab,  with  one  face 
polished    and    etched.       The    figures 
brought  out  by  the  acid  are  peculiar, 
consisting    of    unusually    broad    and 
somewhat  indefinite   plates,    most  of 
which  are  cracked  into  irregular  poly- 
gonal masses,  while  others  are  com- 
pact and  exhibit  beautiful  Neumann 
lines.       [Purchased  from    Ward    and 
Howell.'] 

20.2 

*  Irregular  mass  with  one  face  pol- 
ished and  etched,  but  showing  no  fig- 
ures.    [Smith  Collection.] 

Found  1784. 

21 

Sierra  Blanca,  Durango,  Mexico. 

Found  1784. 

22 

IXTLAHUACA,  TOLUCA,  Mexico. 

248 

Iron.     Specimen   shows   crust,  also 
three   faces  cut   at    right   angles   and 
etched,  showing  well-marked  Widman- 
stiittian  figures.   [Purchased  from  Ward 
and  Howell.] 

Found  1784. 

22 

Xiquipilco,  Toluca,  Mexico. 

14,740 

A  complete  individual,  covered  with 
a  smooth  crust,  which  flakes  off  in  scales 
if  exposed  to  the  air.    [Smith  Collection.] 

18,369 

Large  mass  with  crust,  and  one  pol- 
ished face,  showing  large  nodules  of 
troilite.     [Smith  Collection.] 

786 

Very  thin   polished  slab,  full  size, 
showing   sections   of  unusually   large 
nodules  of  troilite.     [Smith  Collection.] 

88 

*  Slab,  etched,   showing  very  good 
Widmanstattian    figures,    also    crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


45 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 

Grams. 

Description. 

Found  1784. 

23 

Bembdego,  Bahia,  Brazil. 

14.3 

Iron.  One  face  etched,  showing  im- 
perfect Widmanstattian  figures.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Found  1784. 

21 

Hacienda  de  Concepcion,  Chihua- 
hua, Mexico. 

3.5 

Iron.  Irregular  piece.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.    Gift  of  Dr.  H.  B.  Butcher.] 

Fell  1785. 

25 

Wittmess,  Eichstadt,  Bavaria. 

Feb.  2. 

Fell  1787. 

26 

Kharkov,  Bobrik,  Russia. 

Oct.  13,3  p.m. 

Fell  1790. 

27 

Barbotan,  Landes,  France. 

July  24,  9  p.  M. 

10 

Stone.       Gray    groundmass,    partly 
breccia    and    partly   rounded    grains. 
Polished  face,  showing  grains  of  iron 
thickly  distributed  through  the  mass. 
[Smith  Collection.'] 

2.3 

*  Some  small  bits.  [Smith  Collection.] 

Found  1792. 

28 

Zacatecas,  Mexico. 

143.2 

Iron.  One  face  etched,  showing  fig- 
ures little  better  than  cast-iron.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

138 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen. 
Shows  octahedral  structure  on  surface 
of  fracture.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Found  1793. 

29 

Cape  of  Good  Hope,  South  Africa. 

110.5 

Thin  slab  of  iron.  Etched, but  show- 
ing no  figures.  [From  the  collection  of 
Baumhauer  and  Stiirtz.] 

Fell  1794. 

30 

Siena,  Tuscany,  Italy. 

June  16,  7  p.  m. 

5 

Stone,  gray,  breccia-like,  with  grains 
of  iron  scattered  through  the  mass. 
Specimen  shows  dull  brown  crust,  and 
one  polished  face.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1795. 

31 

Wold    Cottage,  Thwing,    Yorkshire, 

Dec.  13,  3£  p.  M. 

England. 

65 

Stone,  with  dull  brown  crust.  Two 
polished  surfaces  at  right  angles  show 
grains  of  iron  very  unequally  distrib- 
uted through  the  mass.  The  specimen 
is  intersected  by  several  cracks  filled  in 
with  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

1.5 

*  Small  bits.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1797. 

32 

Bjelaja  Zerkow,  Ukraine,  Kiew,  Russia. 

Jan.  4. 

46 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Fell  1798. 

March  8-12,  6  P.  M. 


Fell  1798. 

Dec.  13,  8  p.  M. 
About  1800. 


No. 


33 


34 


35 


Found  1802. 


Fell  1803. 

April  26, 1  p.  m. 


36 


37 


Fell  1803. 

Oct.  8, 10  A.  M. 


Fell  1803. 

Dec.  13,  10J  a.  m. 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


6.5 


187 


118.5 


165 


78 


2.5 
2.0 
1.5J 


ono 


38 


39 


90 

76 

127 


Description. 


Salles,  Villefranche,  Rhone,  France. 
Stone,    light    gray,    compact.     One 
polished  face  showing  grains  of  iron 
scattered   through   it.      Brown   crust. 
[Smith  Collection.'] 

Krahut,  Benares,  India. 

Imilac,      Atacama,      Bolivia,      South 
•  America. 

Iron  network  enclosing  olivine 
grains,  like  the  Pallas  iron. 

Slab,  polished  and  etched,  the  iron 
in  some  parts  showing  well-marked 
typical  Widmanstattian  figures. 

*  Slab,  polished  and  etched  like  the 
previous  specimen. 

Irregular  mass,  considerably  weath- 
ered on  the  exterior. 

*  Like  the  previous  specimen,  only 
a  little  more  ragged  from  some  of  the 
olivine  grains  having  fallen  out. 

*  Ragged  bits  of  the  iron. 

Albacher  Muhle,  Bitburg,  Rhenish 
Prussia. 

Iron.  Porous  mass  looking  like  an 
iron  slag,  owing  to  its  having  been 
passed  through  a  furnace  at  Treves. 
The  specimen  has  two  polished  faces 
cut  at  right  angles,  but  shows  no  fig- 
ures when  etched.  In  one  part  shows 
a  distinct  black  crust.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.    From  James  R.  Gregory.] 

L'Aigle,  Normandie,  Orne,  France. 

Stone,  gray,  compact,  with  rusty  iron 
grains.  Shows  dull  brown  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Fragment  without  crust.  [Pur- 
chased from  Ward  and  Howell.] 

Saurette,  Apt.  Vaucluse,  France. 
Stone.      Large  polished   slab,  with 
rusty  grains  of  iron  thickly  distributed 
through  the  mass,  giving  it  a  mottled 
brown  color.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Saint  Nicholas,  Massing,  Bavaria. 


OP  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


47 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 
Grams. 

Description. 

Known  1804. 

40 

Charcas,  San  Luis  Potosi,  Mexico. 

37 

Iron.  Thin  slab,  showing  crust  and 
three  polished  faces.  One  etched  face 
shows  typical  Widmanstattian  figures. 
[This  specimen  teas  presented  to  Prof. 
J.  Lawrence  Smith  by  the  Paris  Mu- 
seum.^ 

14 

A  piece  showing  crust,  also  three 
polished  faces.  This  specimen  bears 
the  same  stamped  number  of  J.  L. 
Smith's  Catalogue,  but  shows  no  Wid- 
manstattian figures,  and  is  more  prob- 
ably a  specimen  of  one  of  the  Coahuila 
irons. 

Known  1804. 

41 

Misteca,  Oaxaca,  Mexico. 

Found  1804. 

42 

Rancho  de  la  Pila,  Durango,  Mexico. 

34 

Iron.  Thin  slab,  highly  polished  on 
one  side;  other  side  etched,  showing 
typical  Widmanstattian  figures.  Crust 
on  edges.     [Smith  Collection.'] 

Found  1S04. 

43 

Darmstadt,  Hesse. 

Fell  1804. 

44 

High  Possil,  Glasgow,  Scotland. 

April  5. 

: 

Fell  1804. 

45 

Hacienda  de  Bocas,  San  Luis  Potosi, 

Nov.  24. 

Mexico. 

Fell  1805. 

46 

Doroninsk,  Irkutsk,  Siberia. 

April  6,  5  p.  m. 

Fell  1803. 

47 

Constantinople,  Turkey. 

June,  Day. 

Fell  1805. 

48 

Asco,  Corsica. 

Nov. 

Fell  1806. 

49 

Alais,  Card,  France. 

Mar.  15,  5  P.  m. 

6.5 

Stone.  Small  fragments  of  dark 
brown  earthy  meteorite.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.'] 

*  Also  some  powder.  [Exchanged 
with  C.  U.  Shejmrd  from  the  cabinet  of 
Vauquelin.] 

Fell  1807. 

50 

Timoschin,  Smolensk,  Russia. 

Mar.  25,  p.  m. 

7 

Stone.  Light  gray  with  rusty  iron 
grains,  and  black  crust.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

48 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 

Grams. 

Description. 

Fell  1S07. 

51 

Weston,  Fairfield  Co.,  Connecticut, 

Dec.  14,6.30  a.m. 

U.  S.  A. 

135.5 

Stone.  Looking  something  like  a 
mass  of  old  mortar.  Gray  with  rounded 
grains,  like  a  fine  conglomerate,  with 
specks  of  iron  scattered  through  it,  and 
showing  a  dull  black  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

20.5 

*  Irregular  fragment,  showing  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

15.5 

*  Irregular  fragment,  showing  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

17 

*  Same,  without  crust.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

16 

*  Same,  without  crust.  [Old  Col- 
lection.] 

11 

*  Same,  without  crust.  [Old  Col- 
lection.] 

6 

*  Same,  without  crust.  [Old  Col- 
lection.] 

2 

*  Same,  without  crust.  [S?nith  Col- 
lection.] 

Fell  1808. 

52 

Moradabad,  Northwest  Provinces,  India. 

Found  1808. 

53 

Cross  Timbers,  Red  River,  Texas. 

1,737 

Iron.  Slab,  from  the  "  Gibbs  Mete- 
orite "  of  Yale  College.  Etched,  show- 
ing typical  AVidmanstiittian  figures. 
[Presented  by  Dr.  W.  Gibbs  from  the 
cabinet  of  his  father.] 

22 

Fragment,  with  one  face  polished. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1808. 

54 

Borgo  San  Donino,Cusignano,  Noceto, 

April  19, 12  m. 

Parma,  Italy. 

.5 

Stone.  Light  gray  with  dull  black 
crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1808. 

55 

Stannern,  Iglau,  Moravia. 

May  22,  6  a.  m. 

183.5 

Stone.  A  complete  individual  coated 
with  a  black  vitreous  crust,  covered 
with  a  curious  veining,  as  if  the  palm 
of  the  hand  had  been  pressed  upon  it 
and  removed  when  the  coating  was 
semi-fluid.     [S?nith  Collection.] 

30.5 

Fragment  of  gray  and  white  stone 
nearly  covered   with  crust,    but  only 

OF   ARTS    AND   SCIENCES. 


49 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 
Grains. 

Description. 

part  of  the  crust  exhibiting  the  veined 

character  just  mentioned.     [Smith  Col- 

lection.] 

11 

*  Fragment  without  crust.  [Pur- 
chased from  the  Liebener  Collection.] 

Fell  1808. 

56 

Lissa,  Bunzlau,  Bohemia. 

Sept.  3,  3£p.m. 

6.5 

Stone.  Gray,  with  very  little  iron, 
and  smooth  dull  black  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

.5 

Fragment,  showing  crust.      [Smith 

Collection.] 

.5 

Fragment,  showing  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Found  1809. 

57 

Kikino,  Viasma,  Smolensk,  Russia. 

Found  1810. 

58 

Rokicky,  Brahin,  Minsk,  Russia. 

35 

Iron.  Ragged  end,  with  one  face 
polished,  and  etched,  but  showing  only 
Neumann  lines.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Found  1810. 

59 

Santa  Rosa,  Tunja,  New  Granada, 
South  America. 

Found  1810. 

60 

Ciiartres,  Eure  et  Loire,  France. 

Found  1810. 

61 

Rasgata,  Tocavita,  New  Granada, 
South  America. 

4  or  5 

Iron.  Thin  slab,  mounted  in  ce- 
ment. Polished  face  shows  well- 
marked  Widmanstattian  figures.  [In 
exchange  from  S.  C.  H.  Bailey.] 

Fell  1810. 

62 

Mooresfort,  Tipperary,  Ireland. 

August,  Noon. 

7 

Stone.  Dark  gray,  with  smooth 
black  crust.  One  polished  face  shows 
iron  grains  thickly  distributed  through 
the  mass.  [Smith  Collection.  From 
W.  Nevile.] 

Fell  1810. 

63 

Charsonville,    near    Orleans,   Loiret, 

Nov.  23,  li  p.  m. 

France. 

30.5 

Stone.  Dark  gray,  full  of  rusty  iron 
particles.      Fragment,  without  crust. 

i\ 

[Smith  Collection.] 

Fragments,  without   crust.      [Smith 

Collection.] 

VOL.  XXIII.  (N.  S.  XV.) 


50 


PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

64 

Weight 

in 
Grams. 

Description. 

Fell  1811. 

Kuleschovka,  Poltava,  Russia. 

March  12, 11  a.m. 

5 

Stone.  Light  gray  fragment,  di- 
vided by  a  vein  of  black  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Fell  1811. 

65 

Berlanguillas,  Burgos,  Castile,  Spain. 

July  8,  8  p.m. 

2 

■1} 

Stone.  Gray,  with  iron  grains.  Ir- 
regular fragment,  without  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.     From  C.  U.  Shepard.] 

*  Fragments  like  the  previous  speci- 
men.    [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1812. 

April  10, 1£  p-  M- 

66 

Toulouse,  Haute  Garonne,  France. 

Fell  1812. 

67 

Erxleben,  Magdeburg,  Prussia. 

April  15,  4  P.  m. 

1.5 

Stone.  Irregular  fragment  of  gray 
stony  meteorite,  with  polished  face 
showing  considerable  amount  of  iron. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1812. 

68 

Chantonnay,  Vendee,  France. 

August  5,  2  a.  m. 

43.5 

Stone.  Irregular  fragment,  nearly 
black,  with  black  crust.  Shows  flakes 
and  veins  of  iron  through  the  mass. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1813. 

69 

Limerick,  Adare,  Ireland. 

Sept.  10,  6  a.  m. 

50 

Stone.  Dark  gray,  with  smooth 
dull  brown  crust.  Polished  surface, 
showing  iron  grains  thickly  distributed. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1813. 
Dec.  13,  Day. 

70 

Luotolaks,  Wiborg,  Finnland. 

Found  1814. 

71 

Lenarto,  Saros,  Hungary. 

50 

40.5 
29 

Iron.  Square  slab,  etched  on  all 
sides,  showing  typical  Widmanstattian 
figures.  [Smith  Collection.  From  C.  U. 
Shepard.] 

Etched  slab,  showing  crust  on  edges, 
also  octahedral  cleavage.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

*  Irregular  mass.  [Purchased  from 
Liebener  Collection.] 

Found  1814. 

72 

Gurram  Konda,  Madras,  India. 

OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


51 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Fell  1814. 
Sept.  15,  m. 


Fell  1814. 

Sept.  5,  K. 


No. 


73 


74 


Fell  1815. 

Feb.  18,  M. 


Fell  1815. 

Oct.  3,  8  A.  M. 


Found  1818. 


75 


Found  1818. 


76 


77 


78 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


i.O 


4.5 
1.5 


90 


20 


3.2 


444 


168.i 


79.5 


795 


Description. 


Alexejewka,  Bachmut,  Ekaterinoslav, 
Russia. 

Stone.  Very  light  gray.  Fragment, 
with  two  polished  faces  showing  iron 
grains. 

Agen,  Lot-et- Garonne,  France. 

Stone.  Gray,  with  rusty  grains  of 
iron  through  the  mass.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

*  Like  the  previous  one,  but  showing 
crust.      [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Fragment  of  gray  stone  with  dull 
brown  crust,  and  showing  a  vein  of 
crust  through  the  mass.  Not  rusty. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Durala,  Umbala,  Delhi,  India. 

Stone.  Light  gray,  with  darker 
grains,  and  considerable  iron.  Shows 
black  porous  crust.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

*  Slab,  with  two  polished  faces, 
and  crust  on  the  edge.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

Chassigny,  Haute-Marne,  France. 

Stone.  Small  fragments  in  a  bottle, 
yellowish  white  color,  with  dark  brown 
crust.  [Smith  Collection.  From  Dau- 
bre'e.] 

Cambria,  Lockport,  New  York,  U.  S.  A. 
Iron.  Mass  with  one  polished  face, 
the  rest  crust,  showing  imperfect  octa- 
hedral structure.  Shows  on  the  face 
large  inclusions  of  troilite.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

*  Full-sized  slab,  from  the  above 
specimen,  showing  troilite  nodule. 
Also  shows  Widmanst'attian  figures  on 
the  polished  surface. 

*  Similar  to  previous  slab,  only  with 
one  end  cut  off.  Face,  polished  and 
etched,  shows  most  beautiful  Widman- 
stiittian  figures. 

Barb's  Mill,    Green  Co.,   Tennessee, 
U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Mass,  with  deeply  pitted  crust. 
One  end  cut  off    and  polished.     On 

- I 


52 


PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 
Grams. 

Description. 

being  etched  the  surface  only  darkens, 

but  shows  no  figures  whatever.    [Smith 

Collection.} 

115 

*  Rough    mass,    cut  from   previous 
specimen,  covered  with  crust,  except 
on   two  polished    faces    cut    at   right 
angles. 

55 

*  Thin,  polished  slab,  cut  from  the 
same  specimen  as  the  previous  one. 

25 

*  Same  as  the  above  specimen. 

Fell  1818. 

79 

Zaborzika,   Volhynia,  Russia. 

April  10. 

Fell  1818. 

80 

Seres,  Macedonian  Turkey. 

June. 

19 

Stone.     Black  and  gray,  containing 
grains  of  iron,  and  showing  a  curious 
porous  black  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1818. 

81 

Slobodka,  Smolensk,  Russia. 

August  10. 

4 

Stone.    Very  light  colored,  and  scat- 
tered through  with   fine   iron  grains. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

.5 

Like  the  previous  one,  only  in  addi- 
tion showing  a  dull  dark  brown  crust. 
[Smith  Collection."] 

Found  before 

82 

Burlington,  Otsego  Co.,  New  York, 

1819. 

U.  S.  A. 

Fell  1819. 

83 

.3) 

i 

Saintonge,  Jonzac,  France. 

June  13,  6  A.  m. 

Stone.     Three  small  irregular  frag- 

ments. 

Fell  1819. 

84 

\\ 

Politz,  near  Gera,  Reuss,  Germany. 

Oct.  13,  8  a.  M. 

Stone.      Irregular   fragments    of    a 

i\ 

dark   gray    color   with    white    specks, 
also  dull  black  crust.     [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

*  Numerous  smaller  fragments  like 
the  above.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Found  1820. 

85 

Guilford    County,    North    Cai'olina, 
U.S.A. 

Fell  1820. 

86 

Lasdany,  Lixna,  Witebsk,  Russia. 

July  12,  5£  P.  M. 

5 

Stone.     Dark  gray.     One  face  pol- 
ished, showing  considerable  iron,  and 
cracks   in   every   direction  filled  with 
crust,  giving  it  a  breccia-like  appear- 
ance.    [Smith  Collection.] 

OF   ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 


53 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Fell  1821. 

June  15,  3  J  p.m. 


Fell  1822. 

June  3,  8J  p.  m. 

Fell  1822. 
August  7. 

Fell  1822. 

Sept.  13,  7  a.  m. 

Fell  1822. 

Nov.  30,  6  p.  m. 


Fell  1822-23. 
Fell  1823. 

Aug.  7,  4J  p.  m. 


Fell  1823. 
Fell  1824. 

Jan.  15,  8}  p.  m. 


Fell  1824. 

Feb.  18. 

Fell  1824. 

Oct.  14,  8  A.  M. 


No. 


87 


88 


89 


90 


91 


Weight 
in 

Grams. 


71 
1.2 


31.5 


92 
93 

94 
95 


96 


97 


24 


41 

25 
9.5 


Description. 


Juvinas,  Ardeche,  France. 

Stone.  Gray,  almost  no  iron,  but 
shows  black  vitreous  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.     From  J.  G.  Gregory.'] 

*  Fragment,  showing  crust.  [In  ex- 
change from  C.  U.  Shepard.] 

Angers,  Maine-et-Loire,  France. 


Kadonah,  Agra,  India. 


La  Baffe,  Spinal,  Vosges,  France. 


Allahabad,  Futtehpur,  India. 

Stone.  Very  light  colored,  nearly 
•white,  with  smooth  brown  crust.  One 
face  polished,  showing  considerable 
iron,  and  numerous  cracks  filled  with 
iron  and  the  fused  crust.  Also  shows 
partially  formed  crust  on  surface  of 
fracture.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Showing  same  features  as  previous 
specimen,  but  with  two  polished  faces. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Umballa,  Delhi,  India. 

Nobleboro,  Lincoln  Co.,  Maine, U.  S.  A. 
Stone.      Light    gray,    with    darker 
grains.     Very  little  iron.     [Old  Collec- 
tion.] 

Botschetschki,  Kursk,  Russia. 

Renazzo,  Ferrara,  Italy. 

Stone.  Black  mass  containing  white 
grains,  looking  like  a  porphyry.  Black 
porous  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen,  show- 
ing crust.  [Liebener  Collection.  Pur- 
chased. ] 

*  Without  crust.  [Liebener  Collection. 
Purchased.] 

Tounkin,  Irkutsk,  Siberia. 


Praskoles,  Zebrak,  Bohemia. 


54 


PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 

Description. 

98 

Grams. 

Fell  1825. 

Nanjemoy,  Charles  Co., Maryland,  U.  S.  A 

Feb.  10,  12  a.  m. 

117 

Stone.      Light    gray,   with    darker 
grains  and  considerable  iron.    One  end 
shows  a  smooth  black  crust,  the  other  a 
thick  porous  black  crust.     {Gift  of  Dr. 
W.  Gibbs,from  cabinet  of  his  father.'] 

4.5 

*  Fragment  showing  crust.     [Smith 
Collection.'] 

1.3 

*  Fragment  without  crust.     [Smith 
Collection.] 

*  Also  numerous  smaller  fragments. 

Fell  1825. 

99 

Honolulu,  Oahu,  Sandwich  Islands. 

Sept.  14, 10£  A.  M. 

37.5 

Stone.     Nearly  covered   with    dark 
brown  crust,  deeply  pitted.     On  frac- 
ture very  light  gray  color,  but  inter- 
sected by  a  network  of   cracks  filled 
with  crust.     Grains  of  iron  scattered 
through  the  mass.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Found  1826. 

100 

Nauheim,  Frankfurt,  Hessen. 

Found  1826. 

101 

Galapian,     Agen,      Lot  -et-  Garonne, 
France. 

Fell  1826. 

102 

Mordvinovka,  Pavlograd,  Ekaterino- 

May  19? 

slav,  Russia. 

135 

Stone.     Slab  with  two  polished  faces 
and  thin  black  crust  on  edges.     Light 
gray,  with  darker  grains  surrounded  by 
iron.     Chloride  of  iron  appearing  on 
the  surface. 

63.5 

*  Block,  with  two  polished  faces,  and 
crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Found  1827. 

103 

Newstead,  Roxburghshire,  Scotland. 

Fell  1827. 

104 

Mhow,  Azamgarh  District,  India. 

Feb.  16,  3  p.  m. 

Fell  1827. 

105 

Drake  Creek,  Nashville,  Tennessee, 

May  9,  4  p.  M. 

U.  S.  A. 

1,200 

Stone.      Light      gray.       Sprinkled 
through     with     iron     grains.      Crack 
through   the   mass  filled   with    crust. 
Fragment   largely  covered   with   dull 
brown   crust,   deeply  pitted.      [Smith 
Collection.] 

120.5 

*  Fragment,  showing  crust.     [Smith 
Collection.] 

105 

*  Fragment,  showing  crust.     [Pur- 
chased from  Ward  and  Howell.] 

OF   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES. 


55 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 
Grams. 

Description. 

50 

*  Fragment,  showing  crust.     [Smith 

O  ~k 

Collection.  ] 

\x 

*  Other  small    fragments,   without 

\\ 

crust. 

Fell  1827. 

106 

Jasly,  Bialystok,  Russia. 

Oct.  5,  9J  A.  M. 

Known  in  1827. 

107 

Sancha  Estate,  Santa  Rosa,  Saltil- 
lo,  Coahuila,  Mexico. 

820 

Iron.  Sawed  slab.  Full  section. 
[From  Smithsonian  Institute,  in  exchange.'} 

Slab,  broken,  showing  perfect  cubic 
cleavage  like  galena.  Distinguished 
from  the  other  Coahuila  irons  by  the 
cleavage.  [In  exchange  from  S.  C.  H. 
Bailey.'] 

3.5 

Thin  etched  slab,  showing  Neumann 

3.5) 

2  5f- 

lines.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Irregular  fragments.     [Smith  Collec- 

1.5) 

tion.] 

Fell  1828. 

108 

Richmond,  Henrico  Co., Virginia,  U.  S.  A. 

June  4,  8J  a.  m. 

3 

Stone.  Black  and  white  grains. 
[Smith  Collection.  From  C.  U.  Shepard.  ] 

2 

*  Gravel. 

Found  1829. 

109 

Bohumilitz,  Prachin,  Bohemia. 

49 

Iron.  Etched  slab,  showing  broad, 
well-defined  Widmanstattiau  figures. 
Crust  on  edges.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1829. 

110 

Forsyth,  Monroe  Co.,  Georgia,  U.  S.  A. 

May  8,  3£  P.  M. 

68.5 

Stone.  Light  gray,  with  little  iron. 
[Srnith  Collection.] 

■l\ 

*  Small  irregular  fragments.    [Smith 

Collection.] 

Fell  1829. 

111 

Deal,  near  Long  Branch,  New  Jersey, 

Aug.  14,  11J  p.  m. 

U.  S.  A. 

Fell  1829. 

112 

Krasnoj-Ugol,  Rasan,  Russia. 

Sept.  9,  2  p.  M. 

Fell  1830. 

113 

Perth,  Scotland. 

May  17. 

Fell  1831. 

114 

Vouille",  Poitiers,  Vienne,  France. 

July  18. 

112.5 

Stone.  Gray,  compact,  sprinkled 
with  iron  grains.  Dull  black  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

56 


PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 

Grams. 

Description. 

Fell  1831. 

115 

Znorow,  Wessely,  Moravia. 

Sept.  9,  3£  P.  M. 

Found  1832. 

116 

Walker  County,  Alabama,  U.  S.  A. 

1,891 

Iron.  Large  etched  slab.  On  un- 
der side  and  ends  shows  crust,  and 
well-marked  octahedral  cleavage.  The 
figures  come  between  the  Coahuila  and 
the  Butler  (Bates  Co.)  irons.  They 
most  nearly  resemble  the  Coahuila 
markings,  but  are  coarser,  and  show 
more  clearly  the  "  Trias  "  of  Tscher- 
niak.     [Smith  Collection.] 

258 

Exterior  showing  well-marked  octa- 
hedral cleavage  and  what  appear  to  be 
plates  of  Schreiberseit.  One  face  pol- 
ished and  etched,  looks  very  silvery, 
and  shows  well-defined  markings  on 
some  portions  of  the  surface.  [Smith 
Collection. .] 

159.5 

*  Like  the  previous  specimen.  [Smith 
Collection.'] 

34 

*  Thin,  etched  slab,  showing  no 
figures,  but  only  a  mottled  surface. 
[Smith  Collection.    From  C.  U.  Shepard.] 

Fell  1833. 

117 

Blansko,  Brunn,  Moravia. 

Nov.  25,  6^  p.  M. 

Found  1834. 

118 

Lime  Creek,  Claiborne  (Monroe  or 
Clarke  Co.),  Alabama,  U.  S.  A. 

Found  1834. 

119 

Scriba,  Oswego  Co.,  New  York,  U.  S  A. 

486 

Iron.  Slab,  showing  on  one  side  a 
curious  fine-pitted  surface.  Etched 
face  shows  mottled  surface  in  streaks, 
with  two  very  thin  Widmanstattian 
plates  appearing  in  cross  section  at  one 
place.  Otherwise,  no  figures.  [Smith 
Collection.'] 

Fell  1834. 

120 

Okniny,  Volhynia,  Russia. 

Jan.  8,  9£  a.m. 

Fell  1834. 

121 

Charwallas,  near  Hissar,  Delhi,  India. 

June  12,  8  a.  m. 

1 

Stone.  Brown  and  white,  with  rusty 
iron  grains.  Polished  face.  [Smith 
Collection.  From  Professor  Jameson  of 
Edinburgh. 

.5 

*  Like  previous  specimen. 

Found  1835. 

122 

Black  Mountain,  Buncombe  Co.,  North 

Carolina,  U.  S.  A. 

OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


57 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Fell  1835. 

Jan.  31. 

Fell  1835. 

Aug.  1. 


Fell  1835. 

Aug.  4,  4£  P.  M. 


Fell  1835. 

Nov.  13,  9  p.  St. 

Known  1836. 


Found  1836. 
Fell  1836. 

Nov.  11,  5  A.  M. 


Fell  1837. 

July  24,  111  A.  m. 

Fell  1837. 

August. 


No. 


123 


124 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


1,975 


171 
213.5 


125 


126 


127 


128 
129 


130 


131 


1,797 


17.5 


Description, 


Mascombes,  Correze,  France. 


Charlotte,    Dickson   Co.,  Tennessee, 
U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Large  rounded  mass,  with 
smooth,  unaltered  exterior.  Two  pol- 
ished faces.  Shows  beautiful  Wid- 
manstattian  figures,  fine,  about  like 
Obernkirchen.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Thin,  polished  slab,  full  section 
except  foroue  end.     [Smith  Collection.'] 

*  Block,  consisting  of  three  etched 
surfaces  at  right  angles,  and  the  rest 
crust.      [Smith  Collection.] 

Aldsuorth,  Cirencester,  England. 
Stone.  Polished  rectangular  slab, 
showing  breccia-like  structure  of  light- 
colored  fragments  in  dark  matrix,  and 
occasionally  large  grains  of  iron.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Belmont,  Simonod,  Ain,  France. 
Probably  not  of  meteoric  origin. 

Wichita   Co.,  Brazos  River,  Texas, 
U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Full-sized  slab,  etched,  show- 
ing most  beautiful  Widmaustiittian 
figures  and  the  three  kinds  of  iron 
clearly  defined,  with  the  separate  plates 
marked  by  fine  Neumann  lines.  It 
also  contains  numerous  large  inclusions 
of  troilite.  [Purchased  from  Ward  and 
Howell.] 

Great  Fish  River,  South  Africa. 

Macao,  Rio  Grande  do  Norte,  Brazil. 
Stone.  Gray,  with  rusty  iron  grains, 
and  dull  black  crust  on  one  end.  Pol- 
ished surface  shows  a  seam  of  silvery 
iron,  with  a  most  beautiful  fine  crys- 
talline structure.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Gross-Divina,  Trentschin,  Com.  Hun- 
gary. 

Esnandes,  Charente  Inferieure,  France. 


58 


PROCEEDINGS   OP    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 
Grams. 

Description. 

132 

Butcher  Irons,  Coahuila,  Mexico. 

317,500 

Complete  individual,  showingsmooth 
crust,  but  in  some  places  deeply  pitted. 
[Smith  Collection.'] 

158,800 

*  Like  previous  specimen.      [Smith 
Collection.] 

249,500 

*  Like  previous  specimen.      [Smith 
Collection.] 

23,000 

Full-size  slab,  showing  numerous  in- 
clusions of  troilite.    [Smith  Collection.] 

22,310 

*  Complete  individual,  except  for  one 
polished  face.      [Smith  Collection.] 

12,700 

*  Mass,  with  two  faces  cut  at  right 
angles.      [Smith  Collection.] 

21,886 

Mass,  with  one  polished  face  showing 
crack  across  the  middle  (GOO  cm.  long) 
filled  in  with  crust.    [Smith  Collection.] 

17,000 

*  Slab.     [S?nith  Collection.] 

4,536 

*  Complete   individual,  except  that 
one  end  has  been  cut  off  and  polished. 
[Purchased.] 

3,640 

*  Three  polished  faces  at  right  an- 
gles, the  rest  crust.     [Purchased  from 
Ward  and  Howell.] 

1,653 

*  Four  cut  faces  at  right  angles,  the 
rest  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

1,072 

*  Rounded  mass,  with  two  polished 
faces.     [Smith  Collection.] 

107.5] 

114.5 

80.5 

88 

85.5  y 
20 

*  Slabs  showing  Daubreelite.  [S?nith 

Collection.] 

16.5 

14.5 
14.5 
119 

*  Shows  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

102     "J 

86 

75.5 

72 

66.5 

66 

*  Slabs.  Several  of  them  etched,  and 

65      ► 

some  containing  troilite.     Also  other 

65 

small  pieces.     [Smith  Collection.] 

635 

63 

66 

40.5 

38.5 

OP   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES. 


59 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


No. 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


1,217 


15 


Description. 


Etched  slab.  The  Neumann  lines 
appear  at  first  sight  like  the  markings 
on  a  chopping-block,  without  any  defi- 
nite direction,  as  shown  in  Fig.  3, 
which  is  printed  directly  from  the 
specimen.  A  striking  feature  of  the 
etched  surface  is  the  appearance  at  first 
of  two  sets  of  fine  parallel  lines,  which 
become  obliterated  by  the  continued 
action  of  the  acid.  These  lines  can  be 
made  out  near  the  lower  right-hand  cor- 
ner of  the  figure.  The  more  marked 
and  coarser  crystallization,  appearing 
at  the  left,  is  unusual  in  the  Coahuila 
specimens. 

A  cleavage  mass,  broken  out  from  a 
perfectly  compact  specimen  of  the  above 
iron  by  quick  blows  of  the  hammer. 
This  mass,  shown  of  twice  its  natural 
size  in  Fig.  4,  has  the  form  of  the  cube 
twin  described  by  Tschermak,  as  typi- 
cal of  the  Hauptmannsdorf  iron,  with 
this  difference,  that  the  cube  in  this 
case  is  modified  by  the  octahedron. 
On  etching  the  faces,  beautiful  stria- 
tions  appeared,  all  parallel  to  edges 
either  of  the  cube  or  octahedron.  Most 
of  these  lines  were  so  fine  as  to  be  mi- 
croscopic, though  a  few  were  coarse 
enough  to  exhibit  even  under  a  pocket 
lens  all  the  characters  of  Widmanstat- 
tian  lines.  On  the  octahedral  face 
there  were  no  regular  striations.f 

Another  cleavage  mass  found  in  con- 
tact with  the  previous  one,  but  having 
the  form  of  an  acute  rhombic  prism 
with  an  angle  of  about  120°.  This 
prism,  one  etched  face  of  which  is  shown 
of  twice  the  natural  size  in  Fig.  5,  could 
only  be  separated  by  the  hammer  over 
the  area  abed,  and  the  rest  of  the  face 
had  to  be  continued  by  cutting  through  a 
very  compact  part  of  the  specimen,  ab, 
be,  and  cd  are  the  natural  crystal  edges. 
The  upper  figure  was  copied  directly 
from  the  specimen,  without  any  knowl- 


t  Oliver  W.  Huntington  "On  the  Crystalline  Structure  of  Iron  Meteorites," 
Proceedings  of  the  Am.  Acad.,  Vol.  XXI.  p.  478.  American  Journal,  3d  Series, 
Vol.  XXXII.  p.  284. 


60 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Fell  before  1838. 

Fell  before  1838. 

Fell  1838. 

Jan.  29. 

Fell  1838. 

April  18. 


Fell  1838. 
June  6,  Noon. 


Fell  1838 
July  22,  Day. 

Fell  1838. 

Oct.  13,  9  A.  M. 


Known  1839. 


No. 


133 
134 
135 

136 


137 


138 


139 


140 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


15.5 


5.5 


3.5 

3 
1.5 

1 


Description. 


edge  of  the  arrangement  of  the  Neu- 
mann lines,  but  it  was  afterwards  seen 
that  they  could  all  be  referred  to  a  cube 
with  twin  members  on  all  the  trigonal 
axes.  The  middle  diagram  shows  such 
a  cube  face  with  the  twinning  lines, 
and  the  lower  figure  of  the  crystal  was 
drawn  from  the  diagram  by  means  of  a 
parallel  ruler,  f 

Simbirsk,  Partsch,  Russia. 

Slobodka,  Partsch,  Russia. 

Kaee,  Sandee  District,  Oude,  India. 


Akburpur,  Saharanpur,  India. 

Stone.  Polished  slab,  showing  brec- 
cia-like structure  of  light-colored  frag- 
ments in  black  groundmass.  Full  of 
iron  grains,  and  showing  curious  cellu- 
lar black  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Chandakapur,  Beraar,  India. 

Stone.  Light  gray,  filled  with  rusty 
iron  grains.  Polished  slab,  with  dull 
black  crust  on  edges.  [In  exchange  from 
S.  C.  H.  Bailey.'] 

Montlivault,  Loire-et-Cher,  France. 


Cold  Bokkeveld,  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
Africa. 

Stone.  Dead  black,  with  white 
specks  but  apparently  no  iron.  Shows 
crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Like  the  previous  specimen.  [Smith 
Collectio?i.] 

*  Also  some  fine  powder. 


Baird's  Farm,  Asheville,  North  Caro- 
lina, U.  S.  A. 


t  Oliver  W.  Huntington  "On  the  Crystalline  Structure  of  Iron  Meteorites," 
loc.  cit. 


OF   ARTS    AND   SCIENCES. 


61 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


No. 


Found  1839. 


141 


Fell  1839. 

Feb.  13,  3i  p.  m. 


Described  1840. 


142 


143 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


2,112 


173 


3.5 


15 


Description. 


12,750 


Putnam  County,  Georgia,  U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Dropping  to  pieces  from  oxi- 
dation, but  breaking  up  into  perfectly 
regular  octahedral  fragments.  [Smith 
Collection.'] 

*  Mass  showing  crust,  and  perfect 
octahedral  cleavage.  [Smith  Collection.'] 

A  very  perfect  cleavage  octahedron, 
one  face  of  which  is  shown  of  double 
its  natural  size  in  Fig.  6.  This  octa- 
hedron was  so  loose  in  its  structure  that 
it  was  necessary  to  mount  it  in  pitch 
before  grinding  the  face,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  plates  from  splitting  off. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  at  a,  b,  and  c 
the  spaces  between  the  Widmanstattian 
plates  are  filled  with  a  perfectly  granu- 
lar iron,  and  also  that  the  entire  mass 
is  broken  up,  without  reference  to  the 
crystalline  plates,  into  irregular  poly- 
gonal masses,  suggesting  its  having 
been  suddenly  cooled  from  a  condition 
of  intense  heat.f 

*  An  acute  rhombic  prism  with  the 
faces  etched,  showing  beautiful  Wid- 
manstattian plates  arranged  parallel  to 
the  regular  octahedron. 

*  Octahedral  fragments. 

Pine  Bluff,  Little  Piney,  Missouri, 
U.  S.  A. 

Stone.  Thin  slab,  light  gray  with 
darker  grains  and  considerable  iron. 
\_S7nith  Collection.] 

Cosby's  Creek,  Cocke  Co  ,  Tennessee, 
U.  S.  A. 

Mass  with  one  polished  face,  show- 
ing great  variation  in  structure.  Por- 
tions of  the  surface  show  regular  and 
well-marked  Widmanstattian  figures, 
while  other  parts  show  only  irregular 
polygonal  masses  with  no  appearance 
of  crystalline  structure.  Moreover, 
bright  nickeliferous  iron  appears  abun- 
dantly in  some  places,  while  other  por- 
tions of  the  surface  are  entirely  free 


t  Oliver  W.  Huntington   "On  the  Crystalline  Structure  of  Iron  Meteorites," 
loc.  cit. 


G2 


PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


No. 


Found  1840. 


140 


144 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


451 


7,710 


70 


711 


9,980 


932 


Description. 


from  it.  The  exterior  shows  a  very 
striking  octahedral  structure,  and  the 
plates  are  separated  by  a  thick  foil  of 
Schreiberseit,  which  can  be  easily  de- 
tached from  the  iron.  [Smith  Collection.] 
One  polished  face,  showing  charac- 
teristic Widmanstattian  figures,  with 
sections  of  bright  nickel  iron.  The 
exterior  shows  very  striking  octahedral 
structure,  and  several  of  the  octahedral 
faces  have  been  polished  and  etched, 
showing  no  figures.  Contains  a  very 
large  nodule  of  troilite.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

Sevier  County,  found  in  1845,  but  evi- 
dently identical  with  Cocke  County. 

Mass  with  two  cut  faces,  one  face 
containing  a  large  nodule  of  graphite. 
The  exterior  shows  beautiful  octahe- 
dral structure.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Nodule  of  graphite,  formerly  weighed 
80  grams,  but  has  been  cut.  Also  nu- 
merous other  nodules  of  graphite,  and 
troilite.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Complete  individual,  containing  a 
large  nodule  of  graphite,  and  showing 
all  the  characteristic  structure  of  the 
Cocke  County  iron.  This  specimen 
was  presented  to  the  Cabinet  by  Prof. 
N.  S.  Shaler,  and  is  reported  to  have 
come  from  Lebanon  Co.,  Tennessee,  but 
is  evidently  the  same  as  the  Sevier  and 
Cocke  County  irons. 

Coney  Fork,  Carthage,  Smith  Co., 
Tennessee,  U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Large  mass  of  cleavage  octa- 
hedrons, with  sharply  denned  faces  and 
edges,  packed  together  like  an  aggre- 
gate of  large  crystals  of  alum.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

This  specimen  shows  six  faces  of  a 
rough  octahedron,  one  of  the  faces  hav- 
ing an  area  of  seven  square  inches. 
One  half  of  this  octahedron  has  been 
partially  torn  apart  into  numerous 
smaller  crystals,  some  of  them  an  inch 
or  more  in  diameter;  but  though  the 
crevasses  between  the  individuals  are 
in  some  places  nearly  a  quarter  of  an 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


68 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Weight 
No.         in 
Grams. 


5,705 


186.5 


Description. 


inch  in  breadth,  yet  they  are  bound 
firmly  together  by  a  network  of  plates, 
which  in  some  parts  raggedly  jut  out 
from  the  octahedral  faces.  The  general 
appearance  of  the  exterior  of  the  speci- 
men reminds  one  somewhat  of  a  rough 
mass  of  galena  crystals,  only  of  octahe- 
dral form.  The  rough  crystal  is  evi- 
dently the  result  of  fracture,  probably 
caused  during  the  passage  of  the  mass 
through  the  air,  and  the  octahedral 
faces  are  cleavage  planes,  if  the  term 
cleavage  may  be  applied  to  such  frac- 
tures, which  cannot  be  reproduced  by 
splitting  in  the  ordinary  way  on  ac- 
count of  the  malleability  of  the  mass. 
The  specimen  further  exhibits  a  fused 
crust  over  the  octahedral  faces,  which 
must  have  formed  after  the  partial 
breaking  up  of  the  large  mass,  giving 
a  rounded  appearance  to  the  edges. 
On  a  polished  surface,  cut  nearly  paral- 
lel to  the  largest  octahedral  face,  the 
figures  produced  by  etching  appear  very 
strikingly.  They  are  perfectly  distinct 
and  regular,  being  typical  Widmanstat- 
tian  figures ;  but  when  they  come  to 
the  cracked  portion  of  the  iron,  they 
appear  as  separate  plates,  some  having 
been  broken  by  the  rupture,  others 
separated,  while  the  greater  number 
appear  bent  and  strained,  but  still  co- 
herent and  binding  the  mass  firmly  to- 
gether. The  whole  appearance  on  the 
etched  surface  gives  at  once  the  idea  of 
a  forcible  explosion,  and  yet  all  the 
cracks,  even  the  most  ragged,  follow 
directions  parallel  to  the  octahedral 
faces. f     [Smith  Collection.] 

Specimen  with  three  faces  at  right 
angles  to  each  other  polished  and 
etched.  The  exterior  is  ragged,  with 
octahedral  plates  jutting  out.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

This  specimen  consists  of  a  mass  of 
octahedral  plates  loosely  packed  to- 
gether so  as  to  form  hopper  crystals.    In 


t  Oliver  W.  Huntington  "On  the  Crystalline  Structure  of  Iron  Meteorites," 
loc.  cit. 


64 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Found  1340. 


Found  1840. 


No. 


145 


14G 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


159 


118 

86 
62 

50 
48.5 
9.5 


2,237 


782 


281.5 
15 


Description. 


the  Smith  Collection  it  bears  the  label 
"  Smithland,  Lincoln  Co.,  Tenn.,"  but 
appears  identical  with  the  Coney  Fork 
specimens. 

*  Polished  slab,  containing  a  large 
nodule  of  troilite.  Crust  on  edges. 
[Smith  Collection.'] 

*  Slab,  with  both  sides  highly  pol- 
ished.     [Smith    Collection.'] 

*  Polished  slab.     [Smith  Collection.] 


*  Etched    slab. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Polished  slab. 

*  Very  thin  slab. 


Crust    on 


edge. 


[Smith  Collection.] 
[Smith  Collection.] 
Piece   consisting  of   a  single  set  of 
parallel  plates. 


Petropavlovsk,  Mrass,  Tomsk,  Siberia. 


Careyfort,  De  Kalb  Co.,  Tennessee, 
U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Two  surfaces,  cut  at  right 
angles  and  etched,  show  typical  Wid- 
manstattian  figures.  One  face  con- 
tains a  large  nodule  of  troilite,  the  rest 
crust.      [S?nith  Collection.] 

This  specimen  shows  hollow  octahe- 
dral faces,  two  inches  in  diameter,  like 
hopper  crystals,  consisting  of  skeletons 
built  up  of  a  series  of  plates  about  half 
an  inch  wide  and  one  sixteenth  of  an 
inch  thick.  These  plates,  when  cut 
transversely,  constitute  the  Widman- 
stattian  figures.  When  the  section  is 
cut  at  random,  the  figures  may  differ 
somewhat  in  character,  and  the  plates 
appear  to  make  various  angles  with 
each  other;  but  when  the  etched  sur- 
face is  parallel  to  an  octahedral  face, 
the  'Widmanstiittian  figures  all  make 
equilateral  triangles,  their  sides  being 
parallel  to  the  octahedral  edges.  Fig. 
7  shows  of  original  size  an  etched  sur- 
face of  this  specimen  cut  parallel  to  an 
octahedral  face.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Shows  crust  and  three  etched  faces. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Shows  crust  and  two  cut  faces. 
[Smith  Collection.] 


OF   ARTS    AND   SCIENCES. 


65 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Found  1840. 


No. 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


147 


Found  1840. 


Found  1840. 


Fell  1840. 

May  9,  Noon. 

Fell  1840. 

June  12,  10£  a.  m. 

Fell  1840. 

July  17,  7J  a.m. 


208 
185 


148 


149 


150 


151 


152 


185 
141 

93.5 

38 

64 

1,328 

456 
93 


137 
52 


7l 
21 


Description. 


Magura,  Szlanicza,  Arva,  Hungary. 

Iron.  One  polished  face.  Rest  of 
surface  covered  with  crust.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.^ 

Three  faces  at  right  angles  to  each 
other,  etched,  showing  that  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Widmanstattiau  figures  va- 
ries greatly  with  the  direction  in  which 
the  face  is  cut.  In  some  cases  the  fig- 
ures are  very  regular,  and  are  largely 
made  up  of  a  bright  nickeliferous  iron, 
though  in  some  cases  the  bright  iron  is 
wholly  absent  and  the  figures  are  re- 
placed by  irregular  cracks.  [Smith 
Collection. ] 

Three  etched  faces.  Elsewhere  sur- 
face covered  with  crust.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.'] 

*  Slab,  with  both  faces  etched,  show- 
ing most  perfect  figures.  Crust  on 
edge.     [Smith  Collection.'] 

*  One  etched  face.  Rest  of  surface 
covered  with  crust.    [Smith  Collection.] 

Thin  slab,  with  crust  on  edge.  Shows 
no  well-defined  figures.  [Purchased 
from  Ward  and  Howell.] 

Appears  to  be  a  lump  of  altered 
crust.     [Smith  Collection.]^ 

Smithland,  Livingston  Co.,  Kentucky, 
U.S.A. 

Iron.  One  etched  face.  No  figures. 
The  other  portions  of  the  specimen  are 
covered  with  a  very  deeply  pitted  crust. 
[S?nith  Collection.] 

Three  polished  faces  at  right  angles 
to  each  other,  and  the  rest  showing 
crust,  deeply  pitted.   [Smith  Collection.] 

Has  been  forged.    [Smith  Collection.] 

Tarapaca,  Hemalga,  Chili. 

Evidently  cast-iron.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.    From  C.  U.  Shepard.] 

Karakol,  Ajagus,  Russia. 

Staartje,  Uden,  Holland. 

Cereseto,  Casale,   Monferrate,  Pied- 
mont. 


VOL    XXIII.    (N.  S.  XV.) 


66 


PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 

Description. 

153 

Grams. 

Fell  1841. 

Gruneberg,    Heinrichsau,     Prussian 

March  22,  3£  p.  m. 

Silesia. 

Fell  1841. 

154 

Chateau-Renard,  Loiret,  France. 

June  12,  li  p.  m. 

50.5 

Stone.     Irregular  fragment  of  dark 
gray   stone,    sprinkled    through    with 
specks  of  iron,  and  intersected  by  nu- 
merous cracks  filled  with  fused  crust. 
[Purchased  from  Ward  and  Howell.'] 

27 

Fragment  showing  dull  black  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

i\ 

*  Fragments.      [Purchased  from  the 

Liebener  Collection.] 

8 

*  Minute  fragments.     [Smith  Collec- 
tion.^ 

Fell  1842. 

155 

Pusinsko  Selo,  Milena,  Croatia. 

April  26,  3  p.  m. 

77.5 

Stone.     Light  gray,  with  dull  black 
crust.    Polished  face  shows  large  grains 
of  iron.     [Smith  Collection.] 

6 

*  Fragment  with  one  cut  face.  [Smith 

Collection.] 

Fell  1842. 

156 

Aumieres,  Lozere,  France. 

June  4. 

2 

*  Stone.     Arery  light  gray  with  sil- 
very specks  of  iron,  and  intersected  by 
a  dark  vein.     [Smith  Collection.] 

2 

Same,   but    showing  a   thin   round 
plate    of    iron    6   mm.    in    diameter. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Several    smaller    fragments,    and 
some  sand.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1842. 

157 

Barea,  Logrono,  Spain. 

July  4. 

Known  1843. 

158 

St.  Augustine's  P»ay,  Madagascar. 

Fell  1843. 

159 

Bisnopvn.LE,  South  Carolina,  U.  S.  A. 

March  25. 

4S 

Stone.  White  and  gray,  with  smooth, 
vitreous  gray  and  white  crust.     Looks 
like   a  partially   decomposed   silicate. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

4.5) 
1  > 

*  Fragments.     [In  exchange  from  C. 

U.  Shepard.] 

Fell  1843. 

160 

Utrecht,  Holland. 

June  2,  8  p.  m. 

9 

Stone.      Light    gray    with    darker 
grains,  and  dull  black  crust.     Polished 
face,    showing    iron    grains.      [Smith 
Collection.] 

Fell  1843. 

161 

Manegaum,  near  Eidulabad,  India. 

June  29,  3£  P.  M. 

OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Fell  1843. 

Sept.  16,  43  p.  m. 

Fell  1843. 

Nov.  12. 

Fell  1844. 

Jan.,  11  a.  M. 

Fell  1844. 

April  29,  3£  p.  m. 

Fell  1844. 

Oct.  21,  6|  a.  M. 

Fell  1845. 

Jan.  25,  3  p.  m. 


Fell  1845  ? 
Fell  1845. 

July  14,  3  P.  M. 

Fell  1846. 

August  14,  3  p.  M. 

Described  1846. 

Found  1846. 

Found  1846. 

Fell  1S46. 

May  8,  9J  a.  m. 

Fell  1846. 

Dec.  25,  21  p.  m. 

Found  1847. 


No. 


162 
163 
164 
165 
166 
167 

168 
169 

170 

171 
172 
173 
174 

175 

176 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


3.5 


1,476 

530 

115.5 
79 


Description. 


Klein  Wenden,  Erfurt,  Prussia. 

Verkhne  Tschirskaja,  Don,  Russia. 

Cerro  Cosima,  Dolores  Hidalgo,  Mexico. 

Killeter,  County  Tyrone,  Ireland. 

Favars,  Aveyron,  France. 

Le   Pressoir,  Louans,  Indre-et-Loire, 
France. 
Stone.    Light  gray,  with  iron  grains. 

Baratta,  Deniliquin,  New  South  Wales. 

La  Vivionnere,  Le  Teilleul,  Manche, 
France. 

Cape  Girardeau,  Missouri,  U.  S.  A. 

Jackson  Co.,  Tennessee,  U.  S.  A. 
Netschaevo,  Tula,  Russia. 
Assam,  India. 
Monte  Milone,  Macerata,  Italy. 

Schonenberg,  Swabia,  Bavaria. 


MURFREESBORO,        RUTHERFORD       Co., 

Tennessee,  U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Rectangular  block,  with  crust 
on  the  ends.  Shows  very  marked, 
typical  Widmanstattian  figures.  [Smith 
Collection.'] 

Mass,  formed  by  five  natural  octahe- 
dral faces  and  two  cut  surfaces.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

*  Three  polished  faces,  at  right  an- 
gles, the  rest  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Etched  slab,  with  crust  on  one  end. 
Shows  beautiful  Widmanstattian  fig- 
ures.    [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Etched  slabs  similar  to  the  previous 
specimen.     [Smith  Collection.] 


68 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


No. 


Found  1847. 
Found  1847. 


Fell  1847. 

Feb.  25,  2J  a.  m. 


Fell  1847. 

July  14,  3]  a.  m. 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


177 


178 


179 


180 


706 


248 


203.5 


167.5 
3.5 

30 


32 
30 


13.5 


Description. 


Chester ville,  Chester  Co.,  South  Caro- 
lina, U.  S.  A. 

Seelasgen,  Brandenburg,  Prussia. 

Iron.  Shows  curious  irregular  gran- 
ular structure  on  natural  fracture.  A 
face  polished  and  etched  shows  the 
same  granular  structure,  only  with  here 
and  there  a  Widmanst'attian  plate. 
[S7)iith  Collection.  FrorriC.U.  Shepard.] 

*  Etched  slab.  Crust  on  ends. 
[Smith  Collection.  From  C.  U.  Shepard.] 

Hartford,  Linn  Co.,  Iowa,  U.  S.  A. 
Stone.  Light  gray,  full  of  iron 
grains,  and  intersected  with  cracks 
filled  with  crust.  Dull  black  finely 
pitted  crust  on  three  sides,  all  in  differ- 
ent degrees  of  fusion.  One  polished 
face.      [Smith  Collection.'] 

*  Irregular  fragment,  showing  crust. 
[In  exchange  from  C.  U.  Shepard.'] 

*  And  other  small  fragments. 

Braunau,  Hauptmannsdorf,  Bohemia. 

Iron.  Beautiful  etched  slab,  show- 
ing Neumann  lines,  some  of  which 
are  sufficiently  coarse  to  show  under  a 
lens  all  the  features  of  Widmanst'at- 
tian figures.  Shows  crust,  and  also 
cubic  cleavage.  [S7nith  Collection. 
From  W Shier.] 

Block  showing  cleavage.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

Block  showing  cleavage  and  crust. 
An  etched  face  of  one  of  the  cleavage 
crystals  is  shown  enlarged  in  Fig.  8. 
At  a  appears  the  face  of  a  twin  cube  and 
the  diagonals  parallel  to  the  intersec- 
tion edge  followed  the  same  twin  on  an 
adjacent  face,  showing  that  they  were 
twinning  lines,  and  not  lines  of  octahe- 
dral or  dodecahedral  faces.  The  lines 
appearing  parallel  to  the  cube  edges 
proved  to  belong  to  the  simple  cube.t 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Shows  cleavage  and  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.] 


loc 


t  Oliver  W. 
cit. 


Huntington  "On  the  Crystalline  Structure  of  Iron  Meteorites," 


OF    ARTS   AND    SCIENCES. 


69 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


No. 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


Description. 


Fell  1848. 

May  20,  4}  a.  m. 

Fell  1848. 

July  4. 

Fell  1848. 

Dec.  27,  Evening. 

Found  1849. 

Fell  1849. 
Oct.  31,  3  p.  m. 


Described  1850. 


181 


182 


183 


184 
185 


.5 


186 


Described  1850. 


Described  1850. 


Found  1850. 


168 


8.5 


448 


187 


188 


189 


127.5 


34 


304 


31.5 


Castine,  Hancock  Co.,  Maine,  U.  S.  A. 
Stone.    Light  gray,  with  iron  grains. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Marmande,  Aveyron,  France. 
Ski,  Akershuus,  Norway. 

Morgan  Co.,  Alabama,  U.  S.  A. 

Monroe,  Cabarras  Co.,  North  Caro- 
lina, U.  S.  A. 

Stone.  Dark  gray  with  light  grains, 
and  thickly  sprinkled  with  iron.  Frag- 
ment, showing  dull  black  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

*  Highly  polished  slab.  [In  exchange 
from  C.  U.  Shepard.] 

Ruff's    Mountain,    Lexington    Co., 
South  Carolina,  U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Slab,  etched,  showing  well- 
marked  Widmanstattian  figures,  only 
there  is  a  curious  indefiniteness  about 
them,  which  is  very  characteristic. 
Shows  crust.  [Smith  Collection.  From 
C.  U.  Shepard.] 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen.  [In 
exchange  from  C.  U.  Shepard.] 

Pittsburg,  Alleghany  Co.,  Pennsylvania, 
U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  A  ragged  end,  showing  on  the 
exterior  a  well-marked  octahedral  struc- 
ture, but  on  an  etched  surface  there  is 
only  a  mottled  appearance,  except  in 
one  corner,  where  broad,  typical,  Wid- 
manstattian figures  appear.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Salt  River,  Kentucky,  U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Crust,  and  three  etched  sur- 
faces, which  in  some  places  only  pre- 
sent a  mottled  appearance,  while  in 
other  parts  there  are  very  fine,  and 
somewhat  indistinct,  Widmanstattian 
figures.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Schwetz,  Prussia. 

Iron.  Thin  slab  with  crust  on  edges. 
One  face  etched,  showing  well-marked 


70 


PROCEEDINGS   OP    THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Found  1850. 


Found  1850. 


Fell  1850. 

Nov.  30,  4£  p.  M. 


Recognized  1851. 
February. 


Fell  1851. 

April  17,  8  p.  M. 

Fell  1851. 

Summer. 

Fell  1851. 

Not.  5,  5£  p.  M. 

Found  1852. 


No. 


190 


191 


192 


193 


194 


195 


196 


197 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


10 


10 


211.5 
25 

17 


16 


Description. 


Widraanstattian  figures.      [Smith  Col- 
lection.    From  C.  U.  Shepard.~\ 

Seneca  Falls,  Seneca  River,  New  York, 
U.  S.  A. 

Iron.      Etched   slab,  showing  very 
well  marked  Widmanst'attian   figures, 
also    octahedral    cleavage.     Crust   on 
[Smith  Collection.] 


edge  of  slab. 


Mainz,  Hesse,  Germany. 

Stone.  Irregular  brown  fragment, 
apparently  a  piece  of  the  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Shalka,  Bancoorah,  Bengal,  India. 
Stone.     Light  gray  and  black  frag- 
ment with  iron  grains,  and  veins  filled 
with  black  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Ainsa    (The     Signet-Iron),    Sonora, 
Tucson,  Arizona,  U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Slab,  with  crust  on  edges. 
[In  exchange  from  U.  S.  National  Mu- 
seum.] 

*  Thin,  etched  slab,  showing  no 
figures  but  a  granular  arrangement 
brought  out  by  the  acid.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

*  Irregular  piece,  showing  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Also  a  quantity  of  turnings.  [Pre- 
sented by  Prof.  B.  Silliman.] 

Guttersloh,  Minden,Westphalia,  Prus- 
sia. 

Quincay,  Vienne,  France. 

Nulles,  Catalonia,  Spain. 

Cranberry  Plains,  Poplar  Hill,  Vir- 
ginia, U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  A  very  perfect  octahedron, 
two  etched  faces  of  which  are  shown 
in  Fig.  9  of  original  size.  It  will  be 
seen  by  this  sketch  that  the  octahedral 
outline  has  been  sharply  formed  ;  but 
while  many  of  the  VVidmanstattian 
plates  are  parallel  to  this  outline,  there 


OF   ARTS    AND   SCIENCES. 


71 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Fell  1852. 

Jan.  23,  4£  P.  M. 


No. 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


7.5 

7 


198 


Fell  1852. 

Sept.  4,  4J  p.m. 


Fell  1852. 
Oct.  13,  3  p.  m. 

Fell  1852. 
Dec.  2. 


199 


200 


201 


64 


35.5 


51 


22.5 


12 
3.5 

9 


Description. 


are  others  which  are  markedly  curved. 
These  curved  plates  must  have  origi- 
nally formed  through  the  liquid  mass 
as  true  planes,  like  their  neighhors, 
and  have  been  bent  in  the  subsequent 
solidifying  of  the  remaining  material. 
For,  if  they  had  been  distorted  by  an 
exterior  force,  the  regularity  of  the  oc- 
tahedron would  have  been  at  the  same 
time  destroyed. f 

*  Thin  slab,  with  crust  on  edges. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Same  as  the  previous  specimen. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Same  as  the  previous  specimen. 
[Smith  Collection.'] 

Yatoor,  Nellore,  Madras,  India. 

Stone.  Gray,  with  three  polished 
faces  showing  considerable  iron.  Dull, 
black  crust,  and  also  crust  partially 
formed.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Four  polished  faces  and  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Two  small  fragments,  weighing 
half  a  gram  each.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Fekete,  Mezo-Madar as, Transylvania. 

Stone.  Dark  rock,  with  light-col- 
ored grains  surrounded  by  iron.  One 
face  polished.  Dull,  black  crust  on 
two  sides.  [Smith  Collection.  From 
C.  U.  Shepard.] 

Polished  slab.  [By  exchange  with 
C.  U.  Shepard.] 

Borkut,  Marmaros,  Hungary. 


Bustee,  near  Goruckpur,  India. 

Stone.  White,  with  black  and  white 
crust.  Perfect  cleavage  with  pearly 
lustre,  looking  like  partially  decom- 
posed felspar.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Polished  block,  showing  round,  pink 
grains.      [Smith  Collection.] 
*  Like  previous  specimen. 


t  Oliver  W.  Huntington 
loc.  cit. 


1  On  the  Crystalline  Structure  of  Iron  Meteorites,' 


72 


PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Known  1853. 


Found  1853. 


Found  1853. 


No. 


202 


203 


204 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


155 


381.5 

105.5 

47 

31 


.} 


5 

4 

4 

2.5 

2 

1.5 

1 


24 


4 

7 


Description. 


*  Also  two  small  fragments  showing 
the  pink  grains.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Lion  River,  Great  Namaqualand,  South 
Africa. 


Knoxville,  Tazewell  Co.,  Tennessee, 
U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Showing  most  beautiful  and 
very  minute  octahedral  structure.  Fig. 
10  shows  very  roughly  an  exact  sketch, 
the  original  size,  of  an  etched  face  of 
this  specimen.  There  is  almost  no 
limit  to  the  fineness  of  some  of  the 
Widmanstattian  figures. f  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

*  One  cut  face.  Rest  of  surface  cov- 
ered with  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Etched  face,  crust,  and  fresh  frac- 
ture, showing  beautiful  octahedral 
cleavage.     [S?nilh  Collection.] 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen. 
[S?nith  Collection.] 

*  Etched  slabs.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Fragment,  in  layers  of  plates.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen. 
[Smith  Collection.] 


*  And  other  small  fragments. 


Union  County,  Georgia,  U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Appears  to  be  mostly  crust. 
Shows  octahedral  cleavage.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Small  plate.     [Smith  Collection.] 
*  In  small  fragments.     [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 


t  Oliver  W.  Huntington 
he.  cit. 


'On  the  Crystalline  Structure  of  Iron  Meteorites," 


OF   ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Found  1853. 


Fell  1853. 

Feb.  10,  1  p.  M. 


Fell  1853. 

March  6. 


No. 


205 


?06 


207 


Fell  1853. 

March  6. 


Known  1854. 


Known  1854. 


Found  1854. 


208 


209 


210 


211 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


27.5 


20.5 


118.5 

6.5 

.5 
.5 

106 

15.5 

19 

11.5 

1.5 
3 

10 


Description. 


Stinking  Creek,  Campbell  Co.,  Ten- 
nessee, U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Appears  to  be  a  complete  in- 
dividual except  where  a  corner  has  been 
broken  off,  showing  an  irregular  frac- 
ture. Has  holes  running  through  the 
mass.  An  etched  surface  shows  a  net- 
work of  fine,  irregular,  silvery  lines, 
but  no  figures.     [Smith  Collection.'} 

Girgenti,  Sicily. 

Stone.  Gray,  fine-grained  with  iron 
specks.  Dull  black  crust,  and  inter- 
sected by  heavy  veins  filled  with  fused 
crust.     \_S7nitl1  Collection.} 

Segowlee,  Bengal,  India. 

Stone.  Brown  and  rusty  looking, 
with  smooth  brown  crust.  One  large 
polished  face  shows  considerable  iron, 
and  also  troilite.     [Smith  Collection.} 

*  Irregular  fragment,  showing  crust. 
[S7nith  Collection.} 

Duruma,  Wanikaland,  East  Africa. 

Stone.  Gray,  rusty-looking  frag- 
ment, with  smooth  dark  brown  crust. 

*  Same,  but  without  crust. 

Jewell  Hill,  Madison  Co.,  North  Caro- 
lina, U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Etched  face,  showing  most 
beautiful,  fine  Widmanstattian  figures, 
also  crust.     [Smith  Collection.} 

*  Slab,  with  crust  on  edge.  [Smith 
Collection.  ] 

Mass  showing  octahedral  fracture. 
[Smith  Collection.} 

*  Slab,  with  crust  on  edge.  [Smith 
Collection.} 

Ocktibbeha County, Mississippi, U.S.  A. 

Iron.  Square  block,  etched  but  show- 
ing no  figures.     [S?nilh  Collection.} 

Irregular  fragment.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.} 

Emmetsburg,  Maryland,  U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Thin  slab,  etched,  showing 
well-marked  Widmanstattian  figures. 
[In  exchange  from  S.  C.  H.  Bailey.} 


74 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 

Grams. 

Description. 

Found  1854. 

212 

Madoc,  Upper  Canada. 

66 

Iron.  Thin  slab,  etched,  showing 
well-marked  Widmanstattian  figures 
with  many  of  the  plates  bent.  Crust 
on  edges.     [Smith  Collection.'] 

20 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen. 
[Purchased  from  the  Liehener  Collection.] 

*  Also  a  few  turnings. 

Found  1854. 

213 

Verkhne-Udinsk  (Niro  River),  Vitim, 
Siberia. 

Found  1854. 

214 

Cranbourne,  Melbourne,  Victoria, 
Australia. 

283 

Iron.  Apparently  crust,  looking  like 
hematite,  with  chloride  of  iron  exclu- 
sions.    [Smith  Collection.] 

186 

*  Like  previous  specimen.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

34.5 

Crust,  but  with  plates  of  Schreiber- 
seit.      [Smith  Collection.] 

27.5 

Mass  of  iron  with  ragged  exterior 
and  one  polished  face,  showing  very 
broad  perfect  Widmanstattian  figures. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Found  1854. 

215 

Tabarz,  near  Gotha,  Saxony. 

Found  1854. 

216 

Sarepta,  Saratov,  Russia. 

446.5 

Iron.  One  face  polished  and  etched, 
the  rest  of  the  surface  showing  a  deeply 
pitted  crust.  The  Widmanstattian  fig- 
ures are  very  striking,  exhibiting  very 
broad  plates,  most  beautifully  marked 
with  Neumann  lines,  and  interspersed 
with  plates  of  brilliant  nickeliferous 
iron,  unequally  distributed  over  the  sur- 
face. Something  like  the  Wichita  iron. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Described  in  1854. 

217 

Haywood  County,  North  Carolina, 
U.  S.  A. 

Fell  1854. 

218 

Linum,  Ferbellin,  Prussia. 

Sept.  5. 

Fell  1855. 

219 

Oesel,  Kaande,  Livland,  Baltic  Sea. 

May  11,  32L  P.  M. 

OP    ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


75 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Fell  1S55. 

May  13,  6  p.  M. 


Fell  1855. 


Fell  1855. 

Aug.  5,  3£  p.  m. 


No. 


220 


Known  1856. 


Known  1S56. 


Found  1856. 


Found  1856. 


221 


000 


223 


224 


225 


226 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


1 
1 

.5 

.5 


11 


50 


32 


35.5 

28 

2,800 


Description. 


Gnarrenburg,Bremervorde,  Hanover. 

Stone.  Dark  gray,  with  white  grains 
and  dull  black  crust.  Little  iron. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Fragraent,without.  crust.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

*  Fragment,  with  crust.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

*  Same,  without  crust.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

Other  small  bits. 

Saint    Denis -Westrem,   near   Ghent, 
Belgium. 

Petersburg,   Lincoln   Co.,   Tennessee, 
U.  S.  A. 

Stone.  Gray,  with  dark  gray,  white, 
and  light  green  grains.  Very  little 
iron.  Shows  shiny  black  crust,  with 
raised  veins,  like  the  markings  left  on 
an  oily  surface  by  the  palm  of  the  hand. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Small  fragments,  many  of  them 
showing  crust.  [Exchanged  with  C.  U. 
Shepard.] 

Denton  County,  Texas,  U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Rough  exterior  showing  octa- 
hedral cleavage.  Three  polished  faces, 
one  of  them  etched,  showing  good  Wid- 
manstattian figures.  [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Irregular  fragment.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

Orange  River,  Garib,  South  Africa. 
Iron.      One    etched    face,   showing 
typical  Widmanstattian  figures.     The 
rest  of  surface  covered  with  crust.    Oc- 
tahedral cleavage.     [Smith  Collection.] 


Fort  St.  Pierre,  Nebraska,  IT.  S.  A. 
Iron.     Etched    slab,    showing  good 
Widmanstattian   figures.     Also  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

One  polished  face.  The  rest  of  sur- 
face covered  with  crust.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

Nelson  County,  Kentucky,  U.  S.  A. 
Iron.     Very  thick  slab,  full  section, 
with  two  polished  faces.    Etched.  The 


'6 


PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 
Grams. 

Description. 

exterior   appears   very  smooth  except 

at  one  end,  where  it  is  very  ragged,  as 

if  torn  apart  by  an  explosion  when  in 

a  slightly  plastic   condition.     On   the 

etched    face    Widmanstattian    figures 

appear  in  unusually  broad  plates  and 

perfectly    distinct,    but   they  entirely 

fade  out  towards  the  edges,  and  wholly 

disappear  near  the  ragged  end  of  the 

specimen.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Found  1856. 

227 

Hainholz,  Minden,  Westphalia. 

209 

Stone.  Dark  brown.  Polished  face 
shows  iron  and  olivine  about  equally 
distributed.  Drops  of  chloride  of  iron 
on  exterior.     [Smith  Collection.] 

95.5 

*  Same  as  previous  specimen.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

30 

*  Same  as  previous  specimen.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

15.5 

*  Two  polished  faces  showing  larger 
nodules  of  olivine  than  previous  speci- 
mens. [In  exchange  from  C.  U.  Shep- 
ard.] 

Found  1856. 

228 

Forsyth,  Taney  Co.,  Missouri,  U.S.  A. 

Fell  1856. 

229 

Avilez,  Durango,  Mexico. 

Summer. 

Fell  1856. 

230 

Oviedo,  Asturia,  Spain. 

August  5. 

Fell  1856. 

231 

Trenzano,  Brescia,  Italy. 

Nov.  12,  4  p.  M. 

Found  1857. 

232 

Laurens  County,  South  Carolina, 
U.  S.  A. 

Fell  1857. 

233 

Parnallee,  Madras,  India. 

Feb.  28,  Noon. 

277 

Stone.  Dark  gray, with  large  white, 
dark  gray,  and  brown  grains.  Dull 
black  crust,  and  polished  face,  showing 
specks  of  iron  distributed  through  the 
mass.     [Smith  Collection.] 

90 

*  Irregular  fragment.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

44 

*  Fragment,  with  crust.  [Gift  of  B. 
Silliman,  Jr.] 

7 

*  Fragment,  with  crust.    [Smith  Col- 

<S 

lection.] 

*  And  other  small  fragments  show- 

ing crust.      [Sijiith  Collection.] 

OF    ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 


77 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 
Grams. 

Description. 

Fell  1857. 

234 

Stavropol,  Caucasus,  Russia. 

Mar.  24,  5  p.  M. 

Fell  1857. 

235 

Heredia,  San  Jose",  Costa  Rica,  Cen- 

April 1,  Night. 

tral  America. 

Fell  1S57. 

236 

Kaba,  Debreczin,  Hungary. 

April  15,  10i  p.  M. 

1 

Stone.  No  iron.  Black,  with  white 
specks.     [Smith  Collection.'] 

Fell  1857. 

237 

Les  Ormes,  Yonne,  France. 

Oct.  1. 

Fell  1S57. 

238 

Veresegyhaza,    On  aba,  Blasendorfer, 

Oct.  10,  12  p.  m. 

Hungary. 

30.5 

Stone.  Polished  slab.  Dark  gray, 
with  large  amount  of  iron,  and  dull 
black  crust  on  edges.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

Fell  1857. 

239 

Pegu  (Quenggouk),  British  Burmah. 

Dec.  27,  2£  A.  M. 

1 

Stone.  Very  light  gray  fragment, 
with  specks  of  iron.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Also  some  small  bits  in  a  bottle. 
[Purchased  from  Liebener  Collection.] 

Known  1858. 

240 

Wayne  County,  near  Wooster,  Ohio, 
U.  S.  A. 

3 

Iron.  Thin  slab,  etched,  showing 
typical  Widmanstattian  figures.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

3.5 

*  Irregular  fragment.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

Found  1858. 

241 

Atacama,  Bolivia,  South  America. 

8 

Iron.  Fragment  with  crust.  One 
cut  face,  etched,  showing  well-marked 
Widmanstattian  figures.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

Found  1858. 

242 

Staunton,  Augusta  Co.,  Virginia, 
U.  S.  A. 

1,027 

Iron.  Full  section  slab,  beautifully 
polished.  [Purchased  of  Ward  and 
Howell.] 

2,743 

Found  in  1870.  Full  section  slab, 
polished,  and  containing  a  nodule  of 
troilifce  5  cm.  in  its  longest  dimension. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

225 

*  Found  in  1870.  Etched  slab,  show- 
ing well-marked  Widmanstattian  fig- 
ures.    [Smith  Collection.] 

78 


PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 
Grams. 

Description. 

Found  1858. 

243 

Trenton,  Washington  Co.,  Wisconsin, 
U.  S.  A. 

3,634 

Iron.  One  cut  face,  the  rest  crust 
deeply  pitted.  Shows  good  octahedral 
cleavage,  the  plates  being  separated  by 
a  thin  foil  of  Schreiberseit,  which  is 
readily  detached  from  the  iron.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

1,045 

Block,  polished  on  four  sides,  the 
rest  crust.  Contains  a  large  nodule  of 
troilite.     [Smith  Collection.] 

S63.5 

*  Block,  with  four  polished  faces, 
and  the  rest  crust.  Contains  a  large 
nodule  of  troilite  having  a  breccia-like 
structure.     [Smith  Collection.'] 

363.5 

*  Block,  with  four  cut  faces  and  the 
rest  crust.      [Smith  Collection.] 

105.5 

*  Polished  slab  with  crust  on  edges. 
Shows  Widmanstattian  figures  even 
before  etching.     [Smith  Collection.] 

91 

*  Highly  polished  slab,  with  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

72.5 

*  Similar  slab,  with  a  large  nodule 
of  troilite.     [Smith  Collection.] 

60) 
14.5  j 

*  Similar  slabs.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1858. 

244 

Kakowa,  Temeser  Ban  at,  Hungary. 

May  10,  8  A.  M. 

1 

Stone.  Gray,  with  darker  grains, 
and  dull  black  crust.  [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1858. 

245 

Ausson,  Montre'jeau,  Haute-Garonne, 

Dec.  9,  7£  a.m. 

France. 

210 

Stone.  Gray,  with  darker  grains 
and  rusty  iron  particles.  [Purchased 
of  Louis  Saemann.] 

60 

*  Irregular  fragment.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

43 

*  Irregular  fragment.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

1 

*  Irregular  fragment.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

Fell  1858. 

246 

Molina,  Murcia,  Spain. 

Dec.  24. 

Described  1859. 

247 

Czartorya,  Zaborzika,  Volhynia, 
Russia. 

Found  1859. 

248 

Port  Orford,  Rogue  River  Mts.,  Ore- 
gon, U.  S.  A. 

OF    ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 


|9 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Fell  1859. 

Mar.  28,  4  P.  M. 


No. 


249 


Fell  1859. 

April  4. 

Fell  1859. 

May  1,  3  P.  M. 

Fell  1S59. 

Aug.  11. 

Described  1860. 


Known  1860. 


250 
251 
252 

253 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


85 


254 


71 

60.5 
57.5 

1,300 


Description. 


Harrison  County,  Indiana,  U.  S.  A. 
Stone.  Nearly  a  complete  individ- 
ual, with  dull  brown,  finely  pitted  crust. 
Fracture  appears  light  gray,  set  through 
with  coarse  dark  gray  fragments,  and 
specks  of  iron.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Mexico,  District  of  Pampanga,  Luzon, 
Philippine  Islands. 

Bueste,    near    Pau,    Basses-Pyrene'es, 
France. 

Bethlehem,   near  Albany,  New  York, 
U.  S.  A. 

Marshall  County,  Kentucky,  U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Thin  slab,  -with  crust  on  edges, 
showing  good  octahedral  cleavage. 
Well-marked  Widmanstattian  figures 
are  brought  out  with  some  difficulty  on 
the  etched  surface.     [Smith  Collection.] 

One  etched  face.  The  rest  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Polished  slab.  Crust  on  edges. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Coopertown,    Robertson    Co.,    Ten- 
nessee, U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Two  faces  at  right  angles, 
etched,  showing  beautiful  Widman- 
stattian figures.  The  rest  covered  with 
crust,  a  natural  octahedral 
appearing  in  one  place. 

Fig.  11  shows  of  original  size  the  two 
etched  faces,  the  larger  one  being  paral- 
lel to  an  octahedral  face  determined  by 
cleavage,  and  the  other  being  at  right 
angles.  Most  of  the  plates,  forming 
in  section  equilateral  triangles,  are  par- 
allel to  octahedral  faces  ;  but  the  plates 
marked  b,  and  those  parallel  to  them, 
bisect  the  octahedral  angles  and  must 
be  parallel  to  a  dodecahedron.  More- 
over, the  plates  marked  a,  which  are 
parallel  to  a  lateral  edge  of  the  octahe- 
dron, when  followed  on  to  the  face  at 
right  angles  to  the  first  continue  to  be 
parallel  to  the  lateral  edge,  and  there- 
fore cannot  be  octahedral  plates,  and 
since  they  are  parallel  to  a  principal 
section  of  the  octahedron  they  must  be 


cleavage 


80 


PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Found  1S60. 


Found  18G0. 


Found  1860  ? 
Fell  1860. 

Feb.  2,  11J  a.  m 


Fell  1860. 

March  28. 

Fell  1860. 

May  1, 122  ?•  m. 


No. 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


255 


256 


257 
25S 


259 


260 


25.5 


196.5 


104 


23,030 


5.S95 


Description. 


cubic.  Hence  this  specimen  exhibits 
distinctly  octahedral,  dodecahedral,  and 
cubic  plates. f     [Smith  Collection.'] 

*  Sawed  slabs,  with  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

*  Etched  slab.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Etched  slab.  [In  exchange  from 
C.  U.  Shepard.] 

*  Looks  as  if  it  had  been  through  a 
forge.  [Purchased  from  Liebener  Col- 
lection.] 

Lagrange,    Oldham    Co.,    Kentucky, 
U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Block  with  three  cut  faces, 
one  of  them  etched,  the  rest  crust. 
Shows  very  narrow  and  somewhat  in- 
distinct Widmanstattian  plates.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Newton  County,  Arkansas,  U.  S.  A. 
Stone.     Mostly   olivine,  with   large 
grains  of  iron.  One  polished  face.   Rest 
of  surface  crust.     Similar  to  Hainholz. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Polished  slabs.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Desert  of  Atacama,  South  America. 

Alessandria    (San  Giuliano  Vecchio), 
Piedmont,  Italy. 

Stone.  Gray,  with  dull  black  crust, 
and  cracks  filled  with  iron.  [Purchased 
from  Liebener  Collection.] 

Khiragtjrh,  S.  E.  of  Bhurtpur,  India. 

New  Concord,  Muskingum  County,  Ohio, 
U.  S.  A. 

Stone.  A  complete  individual,  some- 
what angular,  but  covered  with  a  dull 
black  crust,  and  deeply  pitted.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

*  One  polished  face,  showing  consid- 
erable iron,  and  gray  color,  the  rest  of 
surface  nearly  completely  covered  with 
crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 


t  Oliver  W.  Huntington  "On  the  Crystalline  Structure  of  Iron  Meteorites," 
luc.  cit. 


OP   ARTS    AND   SCIENCES. 


81 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Fell  1860. 

June  16,  5  a.  m. 

Fell  1860. 

July  14,  2J  p.  M. 


Found  1861. 
Fell  1861. 

May  12. 

Fell  1861. 

May  14,  1  p.  M. 

Fell  1861. 

June  28,  7  p.  m. 

Fell  1861. 

Oct.  7, 1£  p.  m. 


Found  1862. 


No. 


261 


262 


263 
264 

265 

266 
267 


268 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


Description. 


300 
136.5 


542 
4 


91 


46 


4.5 

2.5 

2 


1} 


143 


48 


*  One  polished  face  and  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.'] 

*  Nearly  covered  with  crust.     [Smith 
Collection.'] 

*  Also  numerous   small    fragments. 
[Purchased  from  Liebener  Collection.] 

Also  part  of  railroad  sleeper  fractured 
by  the  fall  of  the  meteorite. 

Kusiali,  Kumaon,  India. 


Dhurmsala,  Kangra,  Punjaub,  India. 

Stone.  Gray,  with  rusty  iron  grains 
and  dull  black  crust,  deeply  pitted. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Fragment  showing  crust,  and  with 
one  polished  face.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Heidelberg,  Baden,  Germany. 

Butsura,  Goruckpur,  India. 

Canellas,    Villanova    de    Sitjes,    near 
Barcelona,  Spain. 

Mikenskoi,  Grosxja,  Caucasus. 


Klein-Menow,    Alt-Strelitz,    Mecklen- 
berg. 

Stone.  Slab,  polished  on  both  sides. 
Dull  brown  crust  on  one  end.  Frac- 
ture looking  not  unlike  brown  sand- 
stone. Full  of  iron  grains.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

*  Rectangular  mass,  with  one  polished 
face,  but  no  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Irregular  fragments.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

*  Two  faces  cut  at  right  angles. 
[S7nith  Collection.] 


Victoria  West,  Cape  Colony,  S.  Africa. 

Iron.  Polished  slab,  with  crust  on 
edges,  and  showing  in  one  part  a  per- 
fect octahedral  cleavage.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

*  Thin  slab,  etched,  showing  beauti- 
ful fine,  and  very  characteristic,  Wid- 
manstattian  figures.  [Smith  Collection.] 


vol.  xxiii.  (n.  s.  xv.) 


82 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 

Grams. 

Description. 

Found  1862. 

269 

Howard  Co.,  near  Kokomo,  Indiana, 
U.  S.  A. 

283 

Iron.  Two  polished  faces,  the  rest  of 
surface  covered  with  crust.  No  figures 
produced  by  etching.  [Smith  Collection.] 

47 

Thin,  polished  slab.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

41 

*  Thin  slab,  etched.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

47.5 

Irregular  piece,  with  one  sawed  face. 
[S?nith  Collection.] 

Found  1862. 

270 

Botetourt,  Virginia,  U.  S.  A. 

Found  1862. 

271 

Sierra  de  Chaco,  Atacama  Desert, 
S.  A. 

62 

Stone.  Consisting  of  olivine  and  a 
large  amount  of  iron.  One  polished 
face.  The  rest  of  surface  covered  with 
crust.      [Smith  Collection.] 

30 

*  Slab,  with  crust  on  edges.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Fell  1862. 

272 

Sevixla,  Andalusia,  Spain. 

Oct.  1. 

Recognized 

273 

Carleton  Iron,  Tucson,  Arizona. 

1862-63. 

Known  before 

274 

Wohler  meteorite. 

1863. 

Known  1863. 

275 

Southeast  Missouri,  U.  S.  A. 

29.5 

Iron.  Thin  slab,  full  section,  etched, 
showing  very  striking  Widmanstiittian 
figures  covered  with  innumerable  fine 
Neumann  lines  and  interspersed  with 
masses  of  bright  nickeliferous  iron. 
[S7nith  Collection.  From  St. Louis  Acad, 
of  Nat.  Science.] 

19 

*  Slab,  similar  in  every  respect  to 
the  previous  specimen. 

Recognized  1863. 

276 

Smith's  Mountain,  Rockingham  Co., 
Virginia,  U.  S.  A. 

467 

Iron.  One  polished  face,  and  the 
rest  of  the  surface  covered  with  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

186 

The  specimen  hasone  broad  polished 
face,  the  reverse  side  presenting  an  ap- 
pearance as  if  the  iron  had  been  blown 

OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


88 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 

Grams. 

Description. 

or  torn  apart,  developing  a  superb  oc- 

tahedral structure,  very  ragged,  but  en- 

tirely surrounded  by  a  rim  of  smooth, 

deeply  pitted  crust.    [Smith  Collection.] 

88 

Beautifully  etched  slab,  showing  typi- 
cal Widmanstattiau  figures.  Full  sec- 
tion.    {Smith  Collection.] 

80 

*  Like  previous  specimen.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Found  1863. 

277 

Obernkirchen,  Buckeburg,  Olden- 
berg,  Prussia. 

227 

Iron.  Block,  with  a  black  friable 
crust  on  two  sides,  the  remaining  four 
faces  etched,  showing  beautiful  fine, 
clear,  and  perfectly  characteristic  Wid- 

• 

manst'attian  figures.  [Smith  Collection.'] 

98 

Rectangular  mass,  with  crust  on  one 
face;  the  other  five  faces  are  etched, 
and  cubic  plates  can  be  distinguished 
with  those  of  the  octahedron.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

62 

*  Polished  slab.     [S?nith  Collection.] 

21 

*  Polished  slab.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Found  1863. 

278 

Dakota,  U.  S.  A. 

81 

Iron.  Four  etched  faces,  and  the 
rest  crust.  Some  parts  show  Neumann 
lines,  others  very  good  Widmanstattian 
plates,  and  still  another  face  shows  no 
figures  whatever.  Occasional  masses 
of  a  bright  nickel  iron.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

Found  1863. 

279 

Russel  Gulch,  Gilpin  Co.,  Colorado, 
U.  S.  A. 

• 

1,624 

Iron.  Three  cut  faces,  and  the  rest 
of  the  surface  showing  crust  deeply 
pitted.     [Smith  Collection.] 

147.5 

Slab,  etched,  showing  bent  Widman- 
stattian plates  as  seen  in  Fig.  12,  which 
is  printed  directly  from  this  slab. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1863. 

280 

Pulsora,  Rctlam,  Central  India. 

March  16. 

Fell  1863. 

281 

Scheikar  Stattan,  Buschoff,  Cour- 

June  2,  7£  a.  m. 

land,  Russia. 

Fell  1863. 

282 

Aukoma,  Pillistfer,  Livland,  Russia. 

Aug.  8,  12^  p.  m. 

84 


PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 
Grams. 

Description. 

Fell  1863. 

283 

Shytal,  40  miles  north  of  Dacca,  India. 

August  11. 

2.5 

Stone.  Gray,  with  dull  black  crust. 
A  polished  face  shows  numerous  iron 
grains.    [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1863. 

284 

Tourinnes-la-Grosse,  Tirlemont,  Bel- 

Dec. 7,  11  a.  m. 

gium. 

17 

Stone.  Light  gray,  with  dull  black 
crust  and  one  cut  face  showing  iron 
grains.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1863. 

Dec.  22,  9  a.  m. 

285 

Manbhoom,  Bengal,  India. 

10.5 

Stone.  Light  bluish  gray,  with  dull 
black  crust  and  very  little  iron.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Found  1863-64. 

286 

Tomhannock  Creek,  Rensselaer  Co., 
New  York,  U.  S.  A. 

9.5 

Stone.  Thin  polished  slab,  nearly 
black,  and  full  of  iron  grains.  Shows 
crust.  [In  exchange  from  S.  C.  H. 
Bailey.] 

Fell  1864. 

287 

Nerft,  Courland,  Russia. 

April  12,  4}  a.  M. 

Fell  1864. 

288 

Orgueil,  Tarnet-Garonne,  France. 

May  14,  8  P.  M. 

17 

Stone.  No  iron.  Dead  black,  with 
white  specks,  and  dull  black  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

11 

*  Not  so  black  as  previous  specimen, 
but  showing  well-marked  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

1.5  I 

*  Specimens  showing  crust.     [Sinith 

1.5  J 

Collection.] 

Numerous  other  small  fragments, 
and  a  quantity  of  white  powder  in  bot- 
tles labelled  ' '  Water  extract  of  Orgueil 
meteorite."     [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1864. 

289 

Dolgowoli,  Volhynia,  Russia. 

June  26,  7  a.  M. 

Found  before 

290 

(  Copiapo,  Chili. 
\  Sierra  di  Deesa. 

1865. 

13.5 

Iron.  Fragment  with  one  etched 
face,  showing  Widmanstattian  figures 
very  much  broken  up.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.    From  the  Paris  Museum.] 

Found  1865. 

291 

Dellys,  Algiers,  Africa. 

OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


85 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Fell  1865. 

Jan.  19. 


Fell  1865. 

March  26,  9  a.  m. 


Fell  1865. 

May  23,  6  p.  M. 

Fell  1865. 

Aug.  12,  7  P.  M. 

Fell  1865. 

Aug.  25,  9  a.  m. 

Fell  1865. 

Aug.  25,  11  a.  M. 


Fell  1865. 

Sept.  21,  7  a.  m. 

Found  1866. 


Found  1866. 


No. 


Weight 

in 
Qrams. 


292 


293 


36.5 


294 
295 
296 

297 

298 
299 


300 


100.5 


48 
29 


23 


20 


38.5 


Description. 


Supuhee,  Mouza  Khoorna,  Goruckpur, 
India. 

Stone.  Striking  breccia-like  struc- 
ture, consisting  of  light  gray  angular 
fragments,  of  greatly  varying  size,  set 
in  a  dark  matrix.  A  polished  face 
shows  iron  grains  distributed  through 
the  mass.  One  portion  of  the  speci- 
men is  covered  with  a  smooth  dull 
black  crust,  while  another  portion  has 
a  thinner  crust  covered  with  small  pit- 
tings.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Vernon  Co.,  Wisconsin  (Claywater), 
U.  S.  A. 

Stone.  Dark  brown,  full  of  rusty 
iron  grains,  and  covered,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  two  polished  faces,  by  a  dull 
brown  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Thin  polished  slab,  with  crust  on 
ends.     [Smith  Collection.'} 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen. 
[Smith  Collection.'} 

*  Polished  slab,  but  with  no  well- 
formed  crust.     [Stnith  Collection.] 

Gopalpur,  Jessore,  India. 


Dundrum,  Tipperary,  Ireland. 


Um.thiawar,   Sherghotty,   Berar,  In- 
dia. 


Aumale,  Senhadja,  Algeria,  Africa. 
Stone.     Gray,  with  one  polished  face 
showing    some  iron.       [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

Muddoor,  Mysore,  India. 

Bear  Creek,  Denver   Co.,  Colorado, 
U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Etched  slab,  showing  well- 
marked  Widmanstattian  figures,  also 
crust,  and  good  octahedral  cleavage  on 
edge.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Prambanan,  Socrakarta,  Java. 


86 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 
Grams. 

Description. 

Found  1866. 

301 

Frankfort,  Franklin  Co.,  Kentucky, 
U.  S.  A. 

Iron.     Single    cleavage    octahedron 

7,519 

shown  in  Fig.  13.      [Smith  Collection.] 

Found  1866. 

302 

Juncal,  Paypote,  Chili. 

Found  1866. 

303 

Barranca  Blanca,  San  Francisco  Pass, 
Chili. 

27 

Iron.      Ragged    exterior,   and    two 

etched  surfaces,  showing  very  peculiar 
figures,  surrounding  small  nodules  of 
troilite.  Shown  of  original  size  in  Fig. 
14.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1866. 

304 

Udipi,  South  Canara,  India. 

April. 

31.5 

*  Stone.  Gray,  with  light  and  dark 
grains  and  dull  black  crust.  Two  pol- 
ished faces,  showing  iron  thickly  dis- 
tributed.    [Smith  Collection.'] 

30.5 

Similar  to  previous  specimen,  only 
with  more  crust.      [Smith  Collection.] 
*  Also  some  small  fragments. 

Fell  1866. 

305 

Pokhra,  near  Bustee,  Goruckpur,  India. 

May  27. 

Fell  1866. 

306 

Saint  Mesmim,  Troyes,  Aube,  France. 

May  30,  3J  a.  m. 

6 

Stone.  Fragment,  dark  and  light 
gray,  with  smooth  dull  brown  crust  and 
very  little  iron.     [Smith  Collection.] 

1 

Shows  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 
*  Also  other  small  fragments. 

Fell  1866. 

307 

Knyahinya,  Unghvar,  Hungary. 

June  9,  5 1.  m. 

533 

Stone.  With  one  large  polished  face 
showing  light  and  dark  grains,  more  or 
less  surrounded  with  iron.  The  rest  of 
the  specimen  is  covered  by  a  dull  brown 
crust  with  small  pittings.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.    From  University  of  Pesth.] 

256.5 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen. 
[Smith  Collection.  From  University  of 
Pesth.] 

66 

Completely  covered  with  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.  From  University  of 
Pesth.] 

29.5 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen. 
[Smith  Collection.  From  University  of 
Pesth.] 

Fell  1866. 

308 

Jamkheir,  Ahmednuggur,  Bombay,  In- 

Oct. 6. 

dia. 

OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


87 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 

Description. 

309 

Grams. 

Fell  1866. 

Elqueras,   Cangas   di   Onis,  Oviedo, 

Dec.  6. 

Spain. 

13.5 

Stone.  Dark  gray.  One  polished  face 
showing  breccia-like  structure  and  iron 
grains.  Dull  black  crust.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

Found  1867. 

310 

San  Francisco  del  Mesquital,  near 
Durango,  Mexico. 

52.5 

Iron.  Thin  slab,  with  one  side 
etched  showing  Neumann  lines,  the 
other  side  covered  by  a  smooth  crust* 
[Smith  Collection.'] 

Found  1867. 

311 

Auburn,  Macon  Co.,  Alabama,  U.  S  A. 

Found  1867. 

312 

Losttown,  CherokeeCo.,  Georgia,  U.  S.  A. 

Fell  1367. 

313 

• 

Khetree,  Rajpootana,  India. 

Jan.  19,  9  a.  m. 

Fell  1867. 

314 

Tadjera,  Setif,  Algiers. 

June  9, 10J  P.  M. 

32 

Stone.  Fragment,  black  and  com- 
pact containing  articles  of  what  looks 
like  pyrhotite.  Smooth  black  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.  Presented  by  Paris 
Museum.] 

Found  1867. 

315 

Allen  County  (near  Scottsville),  Ken- 

June. 

tucky,  U.  S.  A. 

534 

Iron.  Thin  etched  slab  with  crust 
on  all  the  edges.  The  etched  surface 
and  the  inclusions  of  troilite  resemble 
very  closely  those  of  the  Coahuila  irons. 
[Purchased  from  Ward  and  Howell.] 

21 

Slab  showing  cleavage  which  appears 
identical  with  that  of  the  Saltillo  (San- 
cha  estate)  iron.  [Purchased  from 
Ward  and  Howell.] 

Found  1868. 

316 

Goalpara,  Assam,  India. 

48 

Stone.  Curious  blue-black  mass  of 
irregular  grains  loosely  packed  togeth- 
er. Brown  woody-looking  crust.  No 
iron  appearing  on  polished  face.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Fell  1868. 

317 

Pultusk,  Sielce  Nowy,  Poland. 

Jan.  30,  7  p.  m. 

689 

Stone.  Large  polished  face  showing 
numerous  iron  grains.  Gray  color,  dull 
black  crust,  also  showing  partially 
formed  crust  on  recent  fracture.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

88 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

iu 
Grams. 

Description. 

110 

*  Completely  covered  with  crust  ex- 
cept on  one  corner.    [Smith  Collection.] 

94 

Complete  individual,  but  with  the 
crust  thinner  in  some  parts  than  in 
others.     [Smith  Collection.'] 

94 

Crust  complete.  [Purchased  from 
Liebener  Collection.] 

87 

The  same. 

68 

The  same. 

56.5 

Crust  complete,  except  on  one  edge. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

48.6 

Complete,  except  on  one  corner. 
[Purchased  from  Ward  and  Howell.'] 

40 

Crust  complete.    [Smith  Collection.] 

39 

*  Crust  slightly  nicked  off.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

37 

*  Crust  slightly  nicked  off.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

29 

*  Complete  stone.  [Purchased  of 
Ward  and  Howell.] 

25.5 

*  Complete  stone.  [Smith  Collection.] 

7.5 

*  The  same. 

8 

*  The  same. 

*  Fragments  with  crust.    [Smith  Col- 

6.5 f 
5.5J 

lection.] 

Fell  1868. 

318 

Motta  di  Conti,  Casale,  Piedmont. 

Feb.  29, 11  A.  M. 

Fell  1868. 

319 

Daniel's   Kuil,   Griqualand,    South 

Mar.  20. 

Africa. 

22 

Stone.  Fragment.  Dark  gray,  fine 
grained,  with  particles  of  iron  through 
the  mass.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1868. 

320 

Slavetic,  Agram,  Croatia. 

May  22,  10 J  A.  M. 

Fell  1868. 

321 

Pnompehn,   Cambodia,  India. 

June  20-30,  3  p.  M. 

Fell  1868. 

322 

Ornans,  Doubs,  France. 

July  11. 

2.5 

Stone.  Fragment  looking  like  a 
bluish  gray  clay  or  hardened  mud. 
Almost  no  iron.     [Smith  Collection.] 

1 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Fell  1868. 

323 

Sauquis,  St.  Etienne,  Basses-Pyrenees, 

Sept.  8,  2J  a.  m. 

France. 

6 

Stone.  Fragment,  light  gray  with 
silvery  grains  of  iron.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.    Gift  of  Paris  Museum.] 

OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


89 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


No. 


Fell  1863. 

Oct.  1. 

Fell  1868. 
Noy.  27,  5  p.  m. 


Fell  1868. 

Dec.  5. 


324 


325 


326 


Fell  1868. 

Dec.  22. 


Found  1869. 

Summer. 

Found  1869. 


Fell  1869. 
Jan.  1, 12JP.M. 


327 


328 


329 


130 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


81 

15.5 
5.5 

106 


21 


7.5 


368 


59 

66 

37 
9.5 


Description. 


Lodran,  Mooltan,  India. 


Danville,  Alabama,  U.  S.  A. 

Stone.  Irregular  fragment,  gray 
color,  and  dark  brown  crust.  The  en- 
tire mass  is  intersected  by  a  network 
of  dark  gray  veins,  and  grains  of  iron 
sprinkled  through.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen,  only 
without  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Shows  crust.     [Smith  Collection.'] 
Also  some  fine  powder. 

Frankfort,  Franklin  Co.,  Alabama, 
IT.  S.  A. 

Stone.  Gray,  with  very  little  iron 
showing  on  polished  face.  Grains  of 
all  colors,  notably  dark  ones.  Black 
vitreous  crust  with  raised  veins  like  the 
markings  left  by  the  palm  of  the  hand 
on  an  oily  surface.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Moteeka  Nugla,  Bhurtpur,  India. 
Stone.     Dark  gray  slab,  polished  on 
both  sides,  full  of  iron  grains.     Crust 
on  one  end.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Utah  (between  Salt  Lake  City  and  Echo), 
U.  S.  A. 

Shingle  Springs,  Eldorado  Co., Califor- 
nia, U.  S.  A. 

Hessle,  near  Upsala,  Sweden. 

Stone.  Completely  covered  with  a 
dull  black  crust,  except  on  one  corner 
where  it  shows  a  gray  fracture,  with 
iron  grains  sprinkled  through  the  mass. 
[Smith  Collection.  From  Royal  Museum, 
Stockholm.] 

Completely  covered  by  " 
crust.  [Smith 

*  Fragment  half  cov-       Collection. 
ered  with  crust.  From 

*  Complete  individual.   [       Royal 

*  Shows  crust.  Museum, 

*  One  polished  face  Stockholm] 
and  crust. 


90 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Fell  1869. 

May  6,  6 J  p.m. 

Fell  1869. 

May  22, 10  P.  M. 


Fell  1869. 

Sept.  19,  9  p.m. 

Fell  1869. 

Oct.  6,  11|  A.  M. 


Fell  1870. 

Jan.  23. 


Fell  1870. 

June  17,  2  p.  M. 

Fell  1870. 

Aug.  18. 

Described  1871. 

Found  1871. 

Fell  1871. 

Spring. 


No. 


331 


332 


333 
334 


335 


336 

337 

338 
339 
340 


Weigh  t 

in 
Grams. 


1.5 
.6 
.4 


365 


41 


46 


5.5 

4 
o 

1.5)- 
1.5 
.5 


20.5 


Description. 


*  Crust  complete. 

*  Crust  complete. 

*  Crust  complete. 

*  Crust  complete. 


[Smith  Collection. 
From  Royal  Mu- 
seum, Stockholm.'] 


Other  small  fragments.  [Purchased 
from  Ward  and  Hoivell.] 

Krahenberg,  Zweibrticken,  Bavaria. 

Kernouve,      Cle"querec,      Morbihan, 
France. 

Stone.  Gray,  fine-grained,  compact, 
with  dull  brown  crust.  One  cut  face 
showing  grains  of  iron.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.    From  F.  Psaini] 

*  Irregular  fragment.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.    From  F.  Psaini.] 

Tjabe",  Pandanjan,  Java. 

Lumpkin,  Stewart  Co..  Georgia, U.S.  A. 
Stone.    Gray,  with  darker  grains  and 
dull  black  crust.     One  face  polished, 
showing  iron   grains.      [Smith  Collec- 
tion.'] 

*  Thin  polished  slab,  with  crust  on 
edges.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen. 
[Smith  Collection.] 


Nedagolla,  Mirangi,  Vizagapatam,  In- 
dia. 

Iron.  Slab,  with  one  face  etched, 
showing  only  a  mottled  surface.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Ibbenbuhren,  Westphalia,  Prussia. 

Cabezzo  de  Mayo,  Murcia,  Spain. 

Iquique,  Peru. 

Oczeretna,  Lipovitz,  Kiev,  Russia. 

Roda,  near  Huesca,  Aragonia,  Spain. 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


91 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Fell  1871. 
May  21,  8J  a.  m. 


Fell  1871. 

Dec.  10,  1J  P.  M. 

Found  1872. 
Found  1872. 


Fell  1872. 

MayS. 

Fell  1S72. 

June  28,  Noon. 

Fell  1872. 

July  23,  5J  p.  m. 

Fell  1872. 

Aug.  31,  h\  a.  m. 

Found  1873. 


No. 


341 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


Description. 


20 


10.5 


342 

343 
344 


345 
346 

347 
348 
349 


1,675 

516.5 
364 
367 
51.5 

8 
275 


103 
56 


Searsmont,  Waldo  Co.,  Maine,  U.S.A. 

Stone.  Light  gray,  with  darker 
grains  and  fine  specks  of  iron.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Fragment  showing  a  dull  black  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Also  numerous  small  bits,  of  less 
than  a  gram  each.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Bandong,  Goemoroeh,  Java. 


Nenntmannsdorf,  Pirna,  Saxony. 

Waconda,  Mitchell  Co.,  Kansas,  U.  S.  A. 

Stone.  Light  gray,  friable  clay- 
like mass,  containing  very  little  iron. 
Partly  covered  by  a  dull  black  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Similar  to  previous  specimen.  [S7tiith 
Collection.] 

Similarto  previous  specimen.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Fragment  without  crust.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

Fragment  showing  crust.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

Fragment  without  crust.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

Small  fragments  from  five  grams 
down,  many  of  them  showing  the  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Dyalpur,  Sultanpur,  Oude,  India. 

Sikkensaare,    Tennasilm,    Esthland, 
Russia. 

Lance,  Authon,  Orleans,  France. 

Orvinio,  near  Rome,  Italy. 

Chulafinnee, Cleburne  Co.,  Alabama, 
U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Highly  polished  slab,  with 
crust  on  edges.  [S7nith  Collection.  From 
A.  Otto.] 

*  Etched  slab,  showing  well-marked 
Widmanstattian  figures.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 


92 


PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMEPJCAN   ACADEMY 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Found  1873. 


Recognized  1873. 


Fell  1873. 

June. 


Fell  1873. 

Sept.  23,  5  a.  m. 


Found  1874. 


No. 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


350 


351 


352 


353 


354 


000 


21.5 
3 

53 


69 


8,028 
2,919 

1,439 


Description. 


Ssyromoltow,  Angara,  Siberia. 

Duel  Hill,  Madison  Co.,  North  Carolina, 
U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  A  large  etched  face  shows  cu- 
rious Widmanstattian  figures.  In  some 
parts  good  octahedral  plates  with  inclu- 
sions of  bright  nickel-iron,  but  other 
portions  of  the  surface  are  cracked  up 
into  irregular  grains,  showing  no  evi- 
dence of  Widmanstattian  plates.  The 
exterior  shows  a  well-marked  octahe- 
dral cleavage.    [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Fragment  with  etched  surface,  and 
marked  octahedral  cleavage  on  exterior. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Irregular  fragment.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

Jhung,  Punjaub,  India. 

Stone.  Dark  gray,  full  of  darker 
grains.  Three  polished  faces  show 
considerable  iron.  On  two  sides  cov- 
ered with  a  black  spongy  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

Khairpur,  Mooltan,  India. 

Stone.  Dark-colored,  compact,  and 
full  of  fine  iron  particles.  Nearly  cov- 
ered by  a  thin  black  crust,  excepting 
two  poiished  faces.    [Smith  Collection.] 

Butler,  Bates  Co.,  Missouri,  U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Mass,  with  two  sawed  faces  at 
right  angles  to  each  other,  and  the  rest 
crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

One  large  polished  surface,  with  one 
half  of  it  etched,  showing  beautiful 
Widmanstattian  figures.  Contains  two 
large  nodules  of  troilite.  The  rest 
crust.     [Purchased.] 

Mass  with  crust,  and  three  etched 
faces  cut  at  right  angles  to  each  other, 
in  one  of  which  is  a  large  nodule  of 
troilite.  On  one  corner  an  octahedral 
cleavage  appears,  showing  that  one  of 
the  etched  faces  is  parallel  to  an  octa- 
hedral plane.  Fig.  15  shows  a  sketch 
of  this  etched  face  somewhat  roughly 
reproduced  so  that  the  finest  lines  do 
not  appear.     On  the  original  specimen 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


93 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


No. 


Weight 

iu 
Grams. 


Found  1874. 


1,185 

388 


Fell  1S74. 

May  11,  11|  p.  m. 


355 


275.5 


173.5 

167 


87.5 


356 


Description. 


there  is  every  gradation  between  coarse, 
typical  Widmanst'attian  figures  and  the 
finest  microscopic  markings.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

A  cleavage  octahedron  broken  out  of 
the  previous  specimen.  All  the  faces 
were  perfectly  smooth  except  part  of 
one  which  was  hollowed  out  by  coming 
in  contact  with  the  crust.  One  etched 
face  of  this  octahedron  is  shown  in 
Fig.  15.  By  following  the  Widman- 
stattian  figures  on  to  adjacent  faces 
of  the  octahedron,  it  was  found  that 
nearly  all,  including  the  finest  micro- 
scopic markings,  were  due  to  plates 
parallel  to  octahedral  faces,  the  only 
exception  being  the  markings  seen  in 
the  diagram  perpendicular  to  the  octa- 
hedral edges,  and  these  proved  to  be 
due  to  plates  parallel  to  a  face  of  the 
rhombic  dodecahedron. 

*  Three  polished  faces  at  right  an- 
gles, and  the  rest  of  the  surface  covered 
with  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Beautifully  etched  slab  with  a  nod- 
ule of  troilite  in  the  middle  of  it,  and 
the  crust  on  one  end.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

Also  a  two-gram  nodule  of  troilite. 

Me.jillonf.s,  near  Desert  of  Atacama, 
South  America. 

Belonging  to  the  Pallas  group,  but 
very  fine-grained.  The  specimen  shows 
a  crust,  and  on  three  polished  faces  the 
iron  appeal's  very  unequally  distrib- 
uted, usually  iu  small  grains  hardly 
forming  a  continuous  network,  but  oc- 
casionally large  masses  of  iron  appear. 
[Purchased  of  Ward  and  Howell.] 

*  Three  polished  faces;  also  shows 
crust  and  fracture.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Five  cut  faces,  and  shows  crust  and 
fracture.     [Smith  Collection.] 


Sevrukovo, 
Russia. 


near    Belgorod,   Kursk, 


94 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 

Description. 

357 

Grams. 

Fell  1874. 

Nash  County,  near   Castalia,  North 

May  14,  1\  P.  M. 

Carolina,  U.  S.  A. 

211 

Stone.  One  half  dark  gray  full  of 
light-colored  grains,  the  other  half 
nearly  white  with  only  occasional 
grains  of  dark  gray,  the  light  and  dark 
halves  of  the  specimen  being  divided 
by  a  sharp  line  at  the  plane  of  contact. 
Iron  grains  are  scattered  through  the 
mass,  and  a  large  part  of  the  specimen 
is  covered  with  a  smooth  slightly  po- 
rous dark  brown  crust  [Synilh  Collec- 
tion.'] 

28.5 

*  Fragment  of  the  darker  portion. 

%\ 

[Smith  Collection.] 

*  The  same,  showing  crust.     [Smith 

l\ 

Collection.] 

*  Numerous  other  small  fragments. 

Fell  1874. 

358 

Virba,  Viddin,  Turkey. 

May  20. 

Fell  1874. 

359 

Kerilis,   Mael   Pestivien,    Cotes-du- 

Nov.  26, 10£  a.  m. 

Nord,  France. 

Known  1875. 

360 

Santa  Catarina,  Rio  San  Francisco  do 
Sul,  Brazil. 

917 

Iron.  Partly  dark  colored,  but  the 
greater  portion  of  a  light  bronze,  and 
having  apparently  a  very  marked  cubic 
cleavage.     [Smith  Collection.] 

434 

*  Mostly  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

219.5 

*  Entirely  crust,  looking  like  limon- 
ite.   [Smith  Collection.] 

279 

*  Iron,  with  very  imperfect  Widman- 
stattian  figures  on  etched  surface. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

131 

*  Apparently  crust.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

141.5 

Partly  crust,  and  partly  iron.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

114 

*  Mostly  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

94.5 

*  Iron,  with  cubic  cleavage.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

74.5 

Mostly  iron.     [Smith  Collection.] 

45.5"] 
33.0  y 
31.5J 

*  Mostly  iron,  with  cubic  cleavage. 

[Smith  Collection.] 

83.5 

Green  and  yellow  porous  mass,  look- 
ing like  slag.     [Srnith  Collection.] 

OF   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES. 


95 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


No. 


Fell  1875. 

Feb.  12,  10*  p.  M. 


361 


Fell  1875. 

March  i. 


362 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


50  > 
18.5  \ 

215 


5,425 


2,803 

1,746 
1,691 
1,677 
1,316 


875 
685 

286 

273 

200 
139 


63 
74 
51 
21 
30 
4 


14 


Description. 


Similar  to  previous  specimen.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

In  fragments  of  all  sorts.  [Smith 
Collection.'] 

This  iron  is  regarded  by  some  as  be- 
ing of  terrestrial  origin,  but  the  above 
specimens  appear  to  be  meteoric. 

Homestead,  West  Liberty,  Iowa  Co., 
Iowa,  U.  S.  A. 

Stone.  Fragment,  dull  gray,  with 
iron  grains  sprinkled  through  the  mass. 
Nearly  covered  with  a  dull  black 
crust,  deeply  pitted.  [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

Complete  individual,  covered  entirely 
with  crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Fragment,  with  crust.  ~|      r-  «    .  , 

*  Complete  individual.     >y-,S;    .•     n 

*  Complete  individual.    }  Collection.] 
Individual,  completely  covered  with 

crust,  except  that  on  one  side  the  crust 
is  only  thinly  formed  over  a  surface  of 
recent  fracture.      [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Complete  individual.  [Purchased 
of  Ward  and  Howell.] 

*  Complete  individual,  but  with  sur- 
faces showing  imperfectly  formed 
crust.      [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Fragment,  showing  crust,  also 
crust  partially  formed  over  fracture. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

*  Fragment,  showing  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

One  polished  face,  elsewhere  crust. 
[Purchased  of  Ward  and  Howell.] 

*  Complete  individual,  with  coatings 
of  different  thicknesses.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

*  Irregular   fragment. 

*  Fragment,  with  crust. 

*  Fragment,  with  crust.  ,       [Smith 

*  Fragment,  with  crust.  |  Collection.] 

*  No  crust. 

*  No  crust. 

Sitathali,  southeast  of  Raepur,  Central 
Provinces,  India. 

Stone.  Polished  slab,  dark  gray, 
with  iron  grains,  and  dull  black  crust 
on  one  end.     [Smith  Collection.] 


96 


PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE  AMERICAN    ACADEx^IY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 
Grams. 

Description. 

Fell  1875. 

363 

Zsadany,  Temeser  Banat,  Hungary. 

March  31. 

Fell  1875. 

364 

Nageria,  Fathabad,  India. 

April  24. 

Fell  1875. 

365 

Feid  Chair,  La  Calle,  Algeria. 

August  16,  Noon. 

Found  1876. 

366 

Verkhne-Dnieprovsk,  Ekaterinoslav, 
Siberia. 

Fell  1876. 

367 

JuDESEGERi,Kadaba  Taluk,  Mysore,  India. 

Feb.  16. 

Fell  1876. 

368 

Rowton,  near  Wellington,   Shropshire, 

April  20,  3 J  p.m. 

England. 

• 

17 

Iron.  Etched  slab,  showing  good 
Widmanstattian  figures,  and  a  smooth 
bluish  black  crust  on  edge.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.'} 

Fell  1876. 

369 

Vavilovka,  Kherson,  Russia. 

June  19. 

Fell  1876. 

370 

Stalldalen,  Nya  Kopparberg,  Sweden. 

June  28, 1U  a.  m. 

Fell  1876. 

371 

Rochester,     Fulton    Co.,     Indiana, 

Dec.  21,8|p.m. 

U.  S.  A. 

75 

Stone.  Light  gray  fragment  with 
darker  grains  and  spongy  dark  brown 
crust.  Very  little  iron.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.} 

Found  1877. 

372 

Dalton,  Whitfield  Co.,  Georgia, 
U.  S.  A. 

202 

Iron.  Block,  with  two  cut  faces  at 
right  angles,  elsewhere  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.} 

183 

Full  section  slab,  etched,  showing 
very  striking  and  characteristic  Wid- 
manstattian figures. 

54 

*  Etched  shib.  Crust  on  edge.  [Smith 
Collection.} 

36.5 

*  Etched  slab.  Crust  on  edge.  [Smith 
Collection.} 

Found  1877. 

373 

Casey  County,  Georgia,  U.  S.  A. 

107 

Iron.  One  etched  face,  showing 
broad  but  somewhat  cracked-up  Wid- 
manstiittian  figures,  elsewhere  crust. 
[Smith  Collection.} 

68 

Piece  forged  into  the  shape  of  a  cold- 
chisel.     [Smith  Collection.} 

49 

*  Full  section  etched  slab.  [Smith 
Collection.} 

OF   ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 


97 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 
Grams. 

Description. 

65 

*  Irregular  mass,  showing  octahedral 
cleavage.     [Smith  Collection.] 

Found  1877. 

374 

Mantos  Blancos  (Cerro  Hicks) ,  Desert 
of  Atacama,  South  America. 

Found  1877. 

375 

Serrania  de  Varas,  Desert  of  Ata- 
cama, South  America. 

Fell  1S77. 

37G 

242 

Warrenton,  Warren  Co.,  Missouri, 

Jan.  3. 

U.  S.  A. 

Stone.     Bluish  gray,  soft,  clay-like 
mass,  with  very  little  iron,  and  a  char- 
acteristic porous  or  spongey  hlue-black 
crust.     [Smith  Collection.] 

16G 

*  Similar     to     previous     specimen. 
[Smith  Collection.] 

74 

*  Fragment   without  crust     [Smith 
Collection.] 

2S 

*  Fragment  showing  crust.     [Smith 
Collection.] 

16.5 

Similar  to  previous  specimen,  only 
that  it  has   clinging  to  it  some  of  the 
woody  fibre  of  the  tree  which  the  me- 
teorite struck  in  its  fall.   [Smith  Collec- 
tion.] 

45 

*  In  fragments  varying  in  size  from 
one  to  six  grams,  and  most  of  them 
showing  crust.     [Sinith  Collection.] 

377 

Fell  1877. 

Cynthiana,  Harrison  Co.,  Kentucky, 

Jan.  23,  4  P.  M. 

U.  S.  A. 

3,113 

Stone.    Dull  gray,  with  white  grains 
and  some  iron.     This  specimen  shows 
a  distinct  front,  consisting  of  a  nearly 
flat  surface,  covered  with  a  dull  black 
crust  full  of  small  round  pittings.    This 
crust  has  flowed  back  in  deep  furrows 
piling  up  into  a  point  behind.     Quite  a 
large  piece  has  been  broken  from  one 
edge  of  the  specimen.  [Smith  Collection.] 

539 

Fragment  of    the   above   specimen, 
showing  crust. 

424.5 

*  Fragment  of  the  large  specimen, 
showing  crust. 

6.5 

*  Fragment  with  crust. 

6 

*  Fragment  without  crust. 

[Smith 

2 

*  Fragment  without  crust. 

►  Collec- 

iTs 

*  Fragment  showing  crust. 

tion.] 

i 

*  Fragment  showing  crust.  __ 

Other  small  bits. 

VOL.  XXIII.   (N.  8.  XIV.) 


98 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


Fell  1877. 

May  17. 

Fell  1S77. 

June. 

Fell  1877. 
Oct.  13,  2  p.  m 


Fell  1878. 

June  11,  11}  A.  M 

Fell  1878. 

July  15,  1}  P.  M. 


Fell  1878. 

Sept.  5. 

Fell  1878. 
Nov.  8. 

Fell  187S. 

Nov.  27,  6  p.  m. 

Found  1879. 


Found  1876. 
Found  1879. 


Fell  1879. 

Jau  Si- 
Fell  1879. 

May  10,  5  P.  M. 


No. 


378 


379 


380 


381 


3S2 


383 
3S4 
3S5 
386 

387 
388 


389 


390 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


Description. 


196.5 


60 


10.5 
7.5 


12,605 


Hungen,  Hesse,  Germany. 

Cronstadt,  Orange  River,  Free  State, 
South  Africa. 

Sarbanovac,  Soko-Banja,  Alexinatz, 
Servia. 

Stone.  Light  gray  fragment,  with 
large  dark  gray  grains,  and  some  iron 
particles.  Partly  covered  with  a  daik- 
brown  pitted  crust.  [Smith  Collection. 
From  J.  11.  Gregory.] 

*  One  polished  face,  also  crust.  [Smith 
Collection.] 

La  Charca,  Irapuato,  Mexico,  U.  S.  A. 

Tieschitz,  Prerau,  Moravia. 

Stone.  Dark  gray,  with  numerous 
lighter  grains,  and  smooth  dull  black 
crust.      [Smith  Collection.] 

*  Same,  but  with  one  face  polished, 
showing  very  little  iron.  [Smith  Col- 
lection.] 

Dandapur,  Goruckpur,  India. 

Rakovka,  Tula,  Russia. 

Dhulia,  Khandeish,  India. 

Campo  del  Pucara,  Catamarca,  Argen- 
tina, South  America. 

Green  County,  Tennessee,  XL  S.  A. 

Lick  Creek,  Davidson  Co.,  North  Caro- 
lina, U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Irregular  fragment,  showing 
no  Widmanstattian  figures  on  the  pol- 
ished surface,  but  might  on  a  different 
section.     [Smith  Collection.] 


La     Be*casse, 
France. 


Dun-le-Poelier,     Inde, 


Esthervit.ee,  Emmet  Co..  Iowa, XL  S.  A 
("Tin-:  Perry  Meteor") 

Iron 


Consisting   of  a  network  of 


OF   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES. 


99 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 


No. 


Fell  1879. 

May  17,  4  P.  M. 

Fell  1S79. 

Aug.  1,  Evening. 

Fell  1879. 

Nov.  4. 

Fell  1880. 


391 
392 

393 


Weight 

in 
Grams. 


1,001.5 

821 

595.5 
492 


4S9 
431 
162 

148 

105 

S3.5 

G1.5 

G1.5 

50 

46 

17 

297 


259 


90 


Description. 


iron  enclosing  olivine,  but  the  propor- 
tion of  the  two  varying  largely  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  meteorite.  This 
specimen  is  a  ragged  mass  partially 
covered  with  ;i  bluish-black  crust  deeply 
pitted.  It  also  contains  a  nodule  of 
transparent  cleavable  olivine  8  cm.  in 
diameter.     [Purchased.'] 

One  face  polished,  showing  on  the 
iron  Widmanstattian  figures  before 
being  etched. 

Similar  to  previous  specimen,  but 
mostly  iron. 

Mass  looking  like  slag,  but  showing 
the  iron  network  on  a  cut  face. 

Individual,  containing  small  amount 
of  iron  and  completely  covered  with 
crust. 

Individual,  mostly  iron. 

Stony-looking  mass. 

Pure  iron,  showing  beautiful  Wid- 
manstattian figures. 

Individual,  mostly  iron. 

'i  it  tt 


it 

tt 


Stony-looking  mass. 

Similar,  but  with  one  cut  face. 

One  polished  face. 

*  Nodular  masses  from  50  grams 
down  to  fine  grains.  208  specimens, 
all  individuals,  and  nearly  pure  iron. 

Of  the  stony  portion  in  fragments. 


Gxadexfrei(Schobergrund),  Silesia, 
Germany. 

Nagaya,  Entre  Rios,  Argentina,  South 
America. 

Kalumbi,  Saltara,  India. 

Australia. 

Iron.  This  specimen  is  labelled  in 
the  collection  of  J.  L.  Smith,  as  given 
above,  with  the  date  1880.  It  appears 
to  be  a  complete  individual,  and  belongs 
to  the  Pallas  group,  consisting  of  a 
network  of  iron  enclosing  grains  of 
olivine. 


100 


PROCEEDINGS    OP    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 
Grams. 

Description. 

Found  1880. 

395 

Ivanpah,  San  Bernardino  Co.,  Cali- 
fornia, U.  S.  A. 

Found  1880. 

396 

Lexington  County,  South  Carolina, 
U.  S.  A. 

Found  1S80. 

397 

Carrol  County,  Kentucky,  U.  S.  A. 

Fell  1880. 

398 

Tore  uchi  mura,  or  Tajima,  Yofugori, 

Feb.  18,  5J  a.  m. 

Japan. 

Fell  1880. 

399 

Karand,  Veramin,  Teheran,  Persia. 

May. 

11.5 

Stone.  Contains  olivine.  Dull  brown 
crust.  Polished  face  shows  considera- 
ble iron. 

Fell  1881. 

400 

Pennyman's  Siding, Middlesborougii, 

Mar.  14,  3J  p.  m. 

England. 

Fell  1881. 

401 

Gross-Liebenthal,  near  Odessa,  Rus- 

Not. 19,  6£a.m. 

sia. 

Found  1882. 

402 

Jenny's  Creek,  Wayne  County,  West 
Virginia,  U.  S.  A. 

31.5 

Iron.  Fragment,  with  one  face  pol- 
ished and  etched,  showing  coarse  Wid- 
manstattian  figures.  Also  shows  well- 
marked  octahedral  cleavage.  [In  ex- 
change from  S.  C.  H.  Bailey.'] 

Found  1882. 

403 

Hex  River  Mountains,  Cape  Colony, 
South  Africa. 

Found  1882. 

404 

Alexander  County,  North  Carolina, 
U.  S.  A. 

Found  1882. 

405 

Greenbrier  County,  Alleghany  Mts., 
West  Virginia,  U.  S.  A. 

Fell  18S2. 

406 

Mocs,  Kolos,  Transylvania. 

Feb.  3,  4  p.  m. 

910 

Stone.  Completely  covered  with  a 
dull  brown  crust  of  three  different 
thicknesses.  [Purchased  inVienna  soon 
after  fall.  .] 

350 

Has  one  polished  face,  showing  light 
gray  color  and  rusty  iron  grains.  The 
rest  of  the  surface  is  covered  by  the 
crust.  [Purchased  in  Vienna  soon  after 
fall.] 

39.5 

*  Similar  to  previous  specimen.  [Pur- 

chased in  Vienna  soon  after  fall.] 

OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


101 


Weight 

Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

in 
Grams. 

Description. 

40 

*  Completely  covered  by  crust.  [Pur- 
chased in  Vienna  soon  after  fall. ] 

11 

Covered  with  crust,  excepting  one 
polished  face,  which  is  intersected  by 
very  heavy  cracks  rilled  with  fused  crust. 
[Purchased  in  Vienna  soon  after  fall.] 

Found  1882. 

407 

Maverick  County,  Texas,  U.  S.  A. 

June  10. 

Fell  1882. 

408 

Pavlovka,  Karai,  Balaschev,  Russia. 

Aug.  2,  4£  P.  M. 

Found  1883. 

409 

Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  U.  S.  A. 

56.5 

Iron.  Polished  slab,  showing  crust. 
One  face  etched,  exhibiting  very  strik- 
ing Widmanstattian  figures,  made  of 
thin  plates  packed  together  in  bundles. 
[In  exchange  from  the  U.  S.  National 
Museum.] 

Found  1883. 

410 

Adalia,  Konia,  Asia  Minor,  Turkey. 

Fell  1883. 

411 

Saint  Caprais-de-Quincac,   Gironde, 

Jan.  28,  2|  p.  m. 

France. 

Fell  1883. 

412 

Alfianello,  Brescia,  Italy. 

Feb.  16,  3  p.  m. 

738 

Stone.  Gray  fragment,  sprinkled 
through  with  iron  grains,  and  partially 
covered  with  a  brown  crust  deeply  fur- 
rowed. 

Fell  1883. 

413 

Ngawi,  Djogorogo,  Java. 

Oct.  3. 

Found  18S4. 

414 

Glorieta  Mountain,  near  Canoncito, 

May. 

Santa  Fe  County,  New  Mexico. 

546 

Iron.  Etched  slab,  showing  typical 
Widmanstattian  figures.  Deeply  pitted 
crust  on  edges.  [In  exchange  from 
George  F.  Kunz.] 

367 

Etched  slab,  with  crust  on  edges. 
[Purchased  from  Eimer  and  Amend  ~\ 

Found  1884. 

415 

Independence    County   (Joe   Wright 

Juue. 

Mountain),  Arkansas,  U.  S.  A. 

Found  18S5. 

416 

Catorze,  near  San  Luis  Potosi,  Mexico. 

Fell  1885. 

417 

Mazapil,  Zacatecas,  Mexico. 

Nor.  27,  9  p.  M. 

Fell  1886. 

418 

Cabin   Creek,  Johnson  County,  Ar- 

March 27,  3  p.  m. 

kansas,  U.  S.  A. 

102 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Date  of  Fall  or  Find. 

No. 

Weight 
in 

Grams. 

Description. 

Described  1887. 

419 

9.3 

Abert  Iron. 

Iron.  Thin  etched  slab,  showing 
well-marked  Widmanstattian  figures. 
[In  exchange  from  U.  S.  National  Mu- 
seum.] 

Found  1887. 

420 

114 

Eau  Claire,  Wisconsin. 

Iron.  Etched  slab  with  crust  on 
edges,  showing  well-marked  octahedral 
structure.  [Presented  by  Dacenport 
Fisher,  Esq.,  of  Milwaukee. ~\ 

Described  18S7. 

May  30. 

421 

Powder  Mill  Cheek,  Crab  Orchard, 
Cumberland  Co.,  Tenn.,  U.  S.  A. 

Described  18S7. 

August  26. 

G70 

Rockwood,  Cumberland  Co.,  Tenn. 

Large  polished  section,  with  deeply 
pitted  crust,  showing  grains  of  iron  in 
an  earthy  matrix  said  to  consist  of  en- 
statite  and  anorthite.  Same  as  Pow- 
der Mill  Creek.  [Purchased  from  Ward 
and  Howell.] 

Described  1887. 

May  30. 

422 

12.5 

Waldron's  Ridge,  Tazewell  Co.,  Ten- 
nessee, U.  S.  A. 

Iron.  Fragment  of  crust.  A  part 
shows  an  octahedral  structure,  the 
plates  being  separated  by  a  thin  foil 
of  nickeliferous  iron,  resembling  the 
specimens  from  Cocke  Co.  [In  ex- 
change from  G.  F.  Kunz.~\ 

Described  18S7. 

August. 

423 

27 

Chattooga  County,  Georgia,  U.  S.  A. 
Iron.      Fragment  with  two  polished 
faces,  and  showing  crust.     Dilute  acid 
at  first  blackens  the  surface  slightly, 
and  by  continued  action  develops  fine 
Neumann  lines  similar  to  those  exhib-  | 
ited   by   the   Coahuila  irons.      It  also 
resembles  the  Coahuila  irons  in  being 
easily  cut  by  a  knife.    It  contains  large 
inclusions  of  troilite  altered  by  weath- 
ering.   [In  exchange  from  G.  F.  Kunz.] 

Fell  1S87. 

Jan.  21. 

424 

Talbot  Road,  De  Cewsville,  Ontario. 

OP    ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 


103 


INDEX. 


Abert  Iron 101  419 

Adalia 101  410 

Adarb 50  GO 

Agen 51  74 

Agen  (Galapian)      ....  54  101 

Agra 53  89 

Agram 43  12 

Ainsa  ("Signet  Iron")    .     .  70  193 

Akburpur 60  130 

Akershuus 69  183 

Alais 47  49 

Albacher  Muhle  ....  46  36 

Albareto 44  10 

Aldswortii 57  125 

Alessandria 80  258 

Alexander  County    .     .     .  100  404 

Alexejewka 51  73 

Alfianello 101  412 

Allahabad 53  91 

Allen  County 87  315 

Anderson 41  1 

Anderson 41  2 

Angers 53  88 

Apt.  Vaucluse 46  38 

Arva 65  147 

Asco 47  48 

Asheville 60  140 

Assam 67  173 

Atacama 46  35 

Atacama  Desert    ....  80  257 

Atacama,  Bolivia  .     ...  77  241 

Atacama  (Mantos  Blancos)  97  374 

Atacama  (Mejillones)      .     .  93  355 

Atacama  (SerraniadeVaras)  97  375 

Atacama  (Sierra  de  Chaco)  82  271 


**■  It 

Auburn 87  .311 

Augusta  County    ....  77  242 

Aukoma 83  282 

Aumale 85  297 

Aumieres 66  156 

Ausson 78  215 

Australia 99  394 

Autiion 91  347 

Avilez 76  229 

Babb's  Mill 51  78 

Bachmut 51  73 

Bahia 45  23 

Baibd's  Farm 60  140 

Bancoorah 70  192 

Baratta 67  168 

Barbotan 45  27 

Barea 66  157 

Barranca  Blanca  ....  86  303 

Bates  County 92  354 

Bandong 91  342 

Bear  Creek  ........  85  299 

Belgorod 93  356 

Belmont 57  126 

Bembdego 45  23 

Benares 40  34 

Berlanguillas 50  65 

Bethlehem 79  252 

Bhurtpur 89  327 

Bialystok 55  106 

BisiiopviLLE 66  159 

Bitburg 46  36 

Bjelaja  Zerkow    ....  45  32 

Black  Mountain    ....  56  122 

Blansko 56  117 


104 


PROCEEDINGS    OP    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Page. 

bohumilitz 55 

Borgo  San  Donino    ...  48 

Bokkut 71 

Botetourt 82 

botschetschki 53 

Brahin       49 

Braunau 68 

Brazos  River 57 

Breitenbach      .....  42 

Bremervorde 75 

Brunn 56 

BlJCKEBURG 83 

Bueste 79 

Bunzlau 49 

Burlington 52 

Buschoff 83 

Bustee 71 

Butcher  Irons 58 

Butler 92 

Butsura 81 

Cabarras  County  ....  69 

Cabezzo  de  Mayo  ....  90 

Cabin  Creek 101 

Caldiero 43 

Cambria 51 

Campbell  County  ....  73 

Campo  del  Cielo   ....  44 

Campo  del  Pucara    ...  98 

Canellas 81 

Cangas  di  Onis 87 

Cape  Colony 100 

Cape  Girardeau    ....  67 

Cape  of  Good  Hope    ...  45 

Careyfort 64 

Carleton  Iron 82 

Carrol  Count  y 100 

Carthage 62 

Casale  (Cereseto)    ....  65 

Casale  (Motta  di  Conte)      .  88 

Casey  County 96 

Castalia 94 

Castine 69 

Catorze 101 

Cereseto 65 

Cerro  Cosima 67 

Chandakapur 60 

Chantonnay 50 


Cat. 
No. 

109 

54 
200 
270 

94 

58 
180 
127 
3 
220 
117 
277 
251 

56 

82 
281 
201 
132 
354 
204 

185 

337 

418 

7 

77 
205 

20 
386 
265 
309 
403 
170 

29 
146 
273 
397 
144 
152 
318 
373 
357 
181 
416 
152 
164 
137 

68 


Pase-   No. 

Charcas 47      40 

Charlotte 57     124 

Ch  arson  vi  lle 49      63 

Chartres 49      60 

Charwallas 56    121 

Chassigny 51      76 

Chateau-Renard    ....  66     154 

Chattooga  County    .     .     .  102    423 

Chesterville 68     177 

Chihuahua 45      24 

Chulafinnee 91     349 

Cirencester 67     125 

Claiborne 56     118 

Clarke  County      ....  56     118 

Claywater 85    293 

Cleberne  County  ....  91     349 

Clequerec 90    332 

Coahuila  (Sta.  Kosa)      .     .  55    107 

Coahuila  (Butcher  Irons)    .  58     132 

Cocke  County 61     143 

Cold  Bokkeveld  ....  60    139 

Coney  Fork 62     144 

Constantinople     ....  47      47 

Coopertown 79    254 

Copiapo,  Chili 84    290 

Cosby's  Creek 61     143 

Costa  Rica 77    235 

Cranberry  Plains      ...  70    197 

Cranbourne 74    214 

Cronstadt 98    379 

Cross  Timbers 48      53 

Cusignano 48      54 

Cynthiana 97     377 

Czartorya 78    247 

Dacca 84  283 

Dakota 83  278 

Dalton 96  372 

Dandapur 98  383 

Daniel's  Kuil 88  319 

Danville 89  325 

Darmstadt 47  43 

Debreczin 77  236 

Denton  County     ....  75  223 

Denver  County     ....  85  299 

Deal 55  111 

De  Kalb  County    ....  64  146 

Dellys 84  291 


OF    ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 


10;' 


DlIULIA 

Dhurmsala 

Dickson  County    .     .     .     . 

Djogorogo     

Dolgowoli 

DoRONINSK 

Drake  Creek 

Duel  Hill 

Dundrum   

DURALA 

Durango  (Sierra  Blanca)  . 
Dcrango  (Rancho  de  la  Pila) 
Durango  (Avilez)  .... 

DuRUMA 

Dyalpdr 


Pase-  no! 

08  385 

81  262 

57  124 

101  413 

84  289 
47  46 
54  105 
92  351 

85  295 
51  75 
44  21 
47  42 
76  229 
73  208 
91  345 


Ead  Claire 102  420 

Eichstadt 45  25 

Elbogen 42  4 

Elqceras 87  309 

Emmet  County 98  390 

Emmetsburg 73  211 

Ensisheim 42  5 

Epinal 53  90 

Erxleben 50  67 

Esnandes 57  131 

Estiierville 98  390 

Fairfield  County      ...  48  51 

Favars 67  166 

Feid  Chair 96  365 

Fekete 71  199 

Ferrara 53  95 

Forsyth  (Georgia)  ....  55  110 

Forsyth  (Missouri)      ...  76  228 

Fort  St.  Pierre     ....  75  225 

Frankfort  (Alabama)     .     .  89  326 

Frankfort  (Kentucky)  .     .  86  301 

Franklin  County  (Alabama)  89  326 

Franklin  County  (Kentucky)  86  301 

Fulton  County      ....  96  371 

Futtehpur 53  91 

Galapian 54  101 

Girgenti 73  206 

Glorieta  Mountain  .     .     .  101  414 

Gnadenfrei 99  391 

Gnarrenburg 75  220 


Page. 

Goalpara 87 

Gopalpur 85 

Grand  Rapids 101 

Great  Fish  River.     ...  57 

Green  County 98 

GreenCounty  (Babb'sMill)  51 

Greenbrier  County  .     .     .  100 

Griqualand 88 

Grosnja 81 

Gross-Divina 57 

Gross-Liebentiial.     .     .     .  100 

Gruneberg 66 

Guilford  County  ....  52 

gurram  konda 50 

GlJTTERSLOH 70 

Hacienda  de  Bocas    ...  47 

Hacienda  de  Concepcion  .  45 

Hainholz 76 

Harrison  County  (Indiana)  79 
Harrison  County  (Kentucky)  97 

Hartford 68 

Hauptmannsdorf  ....  68 

Hayavood  County  ....  74 

Heidelberg 81 

Heinrichsau 66 

Hemalga 65 

Heredia 77 

Hesse .     .  47 

Hessle 89 

Hex  River  Mountains  .     .  100 

High  Possil 47 

Homestead 95 

Honolulu 54 

Howard  County    ....  82 

Hrasciiina 43 

Huesca 90 

HUNGEN 98 


Ibbenbuhren .... 

Iglau     

Imilac    

Independence  County 
Iowa  County     .     .     . 


90 
48 
46 
101 
95 


Iquique 90 

Iyanpah 100 

Ixtlahuaca 44 


Cat. 
No. 

316 
294 
409 
128 
387 
78 
405 
319 
2G6 
130 
401 
153 
85 
72 
194 

45 

24 
227 
249 
377 
179 
180 
217 
203 
153 
149 
235 

43 
330 
403 

44 
361 

99 
269 

12 
340 
378 


336 


415 
361 
338 
305 
22 


106 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Pa^  No. 

Jackson  County     ....  67  171 

Jamkheir 86  808 

Jasly 55  100 

Jenny's  Creek 100  402 

Jewell  Hill 73  209 

Jhung 92  352 

Johnson  County     ....  101  418 

Jonzac 52  83 

Judesegeri 96  367 

Juncal 86  302 

Juvinas 53  87 

Kaande 74  219 

Kaba 77  236 

Kaee 60  135 

Kadonah 53  89 

Kakowa 78  244 

Kalumbi 99  393 

Karakol 65  150 

Karand 100  399 

Kernouve 90  832 

Kerilis 94  359 

Khairpcr 92  353 

Kharkov 45  2G 

Khetree 87  813 

Khiragurh 80  259 

Kikino 49  57 

Killeter 67  165 

Kirghis  (Karakol)  ....  65  150 

Kiusiu 43  10 

Klein-Menow 81  267 

Klein  Wenden 67  162 

Knox  \i  i. lb 72  203 

Knyaiiinya 80  307 

Kokomo 82  269 

Krahenberg 90  331 

Kraiiut 46  34 

Krasnoyarsk 43  11 

Krasnoj-Ugol 55  112 

Krawin 43  13 

Kiilesciiovka 50  04 

Kursk 53  94 

Kusiali 81  261 

La  Baffe 53  90 

La  Becasse 98  389 

LaCaille 42  6 


Page. 

La  Calle 96 

La  Charca 98 

Lagrange 80 

L'Aigle 46 

Lance 91 

Lasdany 52 

Laurens  County    ....  76 

La  Vivionnere 67 

Lenarto 50 

Le  Pressoir 67 

Les  Grimes 77 

Le  Teilleul 67 

Lexington  County  (South 

Carolina) 100 

Lexington  County  (Ruff's 

Mountain) 69 

Lick  Creek 98 

Lime  Creek 56 

Limerick 50 

Linn  County 68 

Linum 74 

Lion  River 72 

Lissa 49 

Little  Miami  Valley    .     .  41 

Little  Miami  Valley    .     .  41 

Little  Pinky Gl 

Livingston  County    ...  65 

Lixna 52 

Lockport 51 

LODEAN 89 

Logrono 66 

Losttown 87 

Louans 67 

Luce 44 

Lumpkin 90 

Luotolaks 50 

Luponnas 43 

Macao 57 

Macerata 67 

Macon  County        ....  87 

Madagascar 66 

Madoc    .     .     • 74 

Madras 76 

Mael  Pestivien      ....  94 

Magdeburg 50 

Magura 65 

Mainz 70 


Cat. 
No. 

365 

381 

255 

37 
347 

86 
232 
169 

71 
167 
237 
169 

396 

186 
388 
118 

69 
179 
218 
202 

56 

1 

2 

142 

148 

86 

77 
324 
157 
312 
1G7 

17 
334 

70 

14 

129 
174 
311 
158 
212 
233 
359 
67 
147 
191 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


107 


„  Cat. 

PaSe-  No. 

Manbhoom 84  285 

Manegaum GO  161 

Mantos  Blancos     ....  97  374 

Marmande 69  182 

Marmaros 71  200 

Marshall  County  ....  79  253 

Mascombes 57  123 

Massing 46  39 

Mauerkirchen 44  18 

Maverick  County      .     .     .  101  407 

Mazapil 101  417 

Medwedewa 43  11 

Mejillones 93  355 

Melbourne 74  214 

Mexico 79  250 

Mezo-Madaras 71  199 

Mhow 54  104 

MlDDLESEOROUGH     ....  100  400 

MlKENSKOI 81  266 

Milena 6(5  155 

Minden 76  227 

Minsk 49  58 

Misteca 47  41 

Mocs 100  406 

Modena 44  16 

Molina 78  246 

Monroe 69  185 

Monte  Milone 67  174 

montlivault 60  138 

Montrejeau 78  245 

Mooltan 89  324 

Mooresfort 49  62 

Moradabad 48  52 

Mordvinovka 54  102 

Morgan  County     ....  69  184 

Moteeka  Nugla     ....  89  327 

Motta  DI  Conti       ....  88  318 

Mouza  Kiioorna     ....  85  292 

Muddook 85  298 

Murcia 78  240 

murfreesboro 67  17g 

Nagaya 99  392 

Nageria 96  364 

Nanjemoy 54  98 

Nash  County 94  357 

Nashville 54  105 

Nauheim 54  100 


Nebraska 75  225 

Nedagolla 90  335 

Nellore 71  198 

Nelson  County 75  226 

Nenntmannsdorf  ....  91  343 

Nerft 84  287 

Netschaevo 67  172 

New  Concord 80  260 

Newstead 54  103 

Newton  County     ....  80  256 

Ngawi 101  413 

Nobleboro 53  93 

Nulles 70  196 

Oaxaca 47  41 

Obernkirchen 83  277 

ocktibbeha  county  ...  73  210 

Oczeretna 90  339 

Oesel 74  219 

Ogi 43  10 

Ohaba 77  238 

Okniny 56  120 

Oldenberg 83  277 

Oldham  County     ....  80  255 

Orange  River 75  224 

Orgueil 84  288 

Ornans 88  322 

Orvinio 91  348 

Oswego  County     ....  56  119 

Otsego  County      ....  52  82 

Otumpa 44  20 

Oviedo 76  230 

Pallas  Iron 43  11 

Pampanga 79  250 

Parma 48  54 

Parnallee 76  233 

Partsch  (Simbirsk)     ...  60  133 

Partscii  (Slobodka)     ...  60  134 

Pavlograd 54  102 

Pavlovka 101  408 

Pegu 77  239 

Pennyman's  Siding     .     .     .100  400 

Perry  Meteor 98  390 

Perth 55  113 

Petersburg 75  222 

Petropavlovsk 64  145 

Pillistfer 83  282 


108 


PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Pace  Cat- 

wge-  No. 

Pine  Bluff 61  142 

PlTTSBURG 69  187 

Ploschkowitz 43  9 

Pnompehn 88  821 

Pokhra 86  305 

Politz 52  84 

Poltava 50  64 

Poplar  Hill 70  197 

PortOrford 78  248 

Powder  Mill  Creek     .     .  102  421 

Prachin 55  109 

Prambanan 85  300 

Praskoles 53  97 

Prehistoric 41  1 

Prehistoric 41  2 

Pclsora 83  280 

Pcltusk    .  ^ 87  317 

Pusinsko  Selo 63  155 

Putnam  County     ....  61  141 

Quenggouk 77  239 

Quincay 70  195 

Rakovka 98  384 

Ranciio  de  la  Pi  la     ...  47  42 

Rasgata 49  61 

Red  River 48  53 

Reichstadt 43  9 

Renazzo 53  95 

Rensselaer  County  ...  84  286 

Richmond 55  108 

Rittersgrun 41  3 

Robertson  County     ...  79  254 

Rochester 96  371 

Rockingham  County      .     .  82  276 

Rockwood 102  421 

Roda 90  340 

RokiCky 49  58 

Rowton 96  368 

Roxburghshire      ....  54  103 

Ruff's  Mountain  ....  69  186 

Russel  Gulch 83  279 

Rutherford  County .     .     .  67  176 

Rutlam 83  280 

Saborzika 52  79 

Saharanpur 60  136 

Saint  Augustine's  Bay.    .  6Q  158 


n„„0  Cat. 
PaSe-     No. 

Saint  Caprais-de-Quincac  101  411 

Saint  Denis- Westrem   .     .  75  221 

Saint  Etienne 88  323 

Saint  Mesmim 86  306 

Saint  Nicholas 46  39 

Saintonge 52  83 

Salles 46  33 

Sai.tillo 55  107 

Salt  River 69  188 

San  Bernardino  County   .  100  395 

Sancha  Estate 55  107 

San  Francisco  del  Mesqui- 

tal 87  310 

San  Jose 77  235 

San  Luis  Potosi  (Charcas) .  47  40 
San  Luis  Potosi  (Hacienda 

de  Bocas) 47  45 

Santa  Catarina     .     .     .     .  94  360 

Santa  Rosa  Tunja     ...  49  59 

Santa  Rosa  (Saltillo)  ...  55  107 

Saonlod  (Khetree)      ...  87  313 

Sarbanovac 98  380 

Sarepta 74  216 

Sauquis 88  323 

Saurette 4Q  38 

Scheikar  Stattan     ...  83  281 

Schellin 43  8 

Schie 69  183 

schobergrund 99  391 

Schonenberg 67  176 

Schwetz 69  189 

Scriba 56  119 

Searsmont 91  341 

Seelasgen 68  178 

Segowlee 73  207 

Sena 44  19 

Seneca  Falls 70  190 

Senegal 43  15 

Senhadja 85  297 

Seres 52  80 

Serrania  de  Varas    ...  97  375 

Sevier  County 62  140 

Sevilla  . 82  272 

Sevrukovo 93  356 

Shalka 70  192 

Sherghotty 85  296 

Shingle  Springs    ....  89  329 

Shytal 84  283 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


109 


Page. 

Siena 45 

Sierra  Blanca 44 

Sierra  de  Chaco   ....  82 

Sierra  di  Deesa    ....  84 

Sigena 44 

Signet-Iron 70 

Ski G9 

Sikkensaare 91 

Simbirsk 60 

Simonod 57 

Siratik 43 

SlTATHALI 95 

Slavetic 88 

Slobodka  (Partsch)    ...  60 

Slobodka  (Smolensk)      .     .  52 

Smith  County 62 

Smithland 65 

Smith's  Mountain      ...  82 

Smolensk  (Kikino)      ...  49 

Smolensk  (Slobodka)  ...  52 

Smolensk  (Timoschin)    .     .  47 

Socrakarta 85 

Soko-Banja 98 

Sonora 70 

South  Canara 86 

Southeast  Missouri  ...  82 

sstromoltow 92 

Staartje 65 

Stalldalen 96 

'  Stannern 48 

Staunton 77 

Stavropol 77 

Steinbach 41 

Stewart  County    ....  90 

Stinking  Creek     ....  73 

Supuhee 85 

szlanicza 65 

Tabarz 74 

Tabor 43 

Tadjera 87 

Tajima 100 

Tarapaca 65 

Tazewell  County     ...  72 

Teilleul 67 

Tennasilm 91 

Tieschitz 98 


Cat. 
No. 

30 

21 

271 

290 

19 

193 

183 

346 

133 

12G 

15 

362 

320 

134 

81 

144 

148 

276 

57 

81 

50 

300 

380 

193 

304 

275 

350 

151 

370 

55 

242 

234 

3 

334 

205 

292 

147 


215 
13 
314 
398 
149 
203 
169 
346 
382 


Timoschin 47  50 

Tipperary 49  62 

Tjabe 90  333 

Tocavita 49  61 

Toke  uchi  mura     ....  100  398 

Toluca 44  22 

Tomhannock  Creek  ...    84  286 

Toulouse 50  66 

Tounkin 53  96 

Tourinnes-la-Grosse      .     .     84  284 

Trenton .     78  243 

Trenzano 76  231 

Tucson  (Sonora)     ....     70  193 

Tucson  (Carleton  Iron)    .     .     82  273 

Tucuman 44  20 

Tula 67  172 

Tunja 49  59 

Uden 65  151 

Udipi 86  304 

Umballa 53  92 

Umjhiawar 85  296 

Union  County 72  204 

Utah 89  328 

Utrecht 66  160 

Vago 43  7 

Vavilovka 96  369 

Veramin 100  399 

VeRESEGYHAZA 77  238 

Verkhne-Dnieproysk    .     .    96  366 

Verkhne-Tschirskaja  .     .    67  163 

Verkhne-Udinsk  ....     74  213 

Vernon  County     ....     85  293 

Verona 43  7 

Victoria  West 81  268 

Virba 94  358 

Volhynia  (Okniny)     ...     56  120 

Voliiynia  (Zaborzika)     .     .    52  79 

Vouille 55  114 

Waconda 91  344 

Waldron's  Ridge.     .     .     .102  422 

Walker  County    ....     56  116 

Warren  County     ....     97  376 

Warrenton 97  376 

Washington  County      .     .     78  243 

Wayne  County  (Ohio)    .     .     77  240 


110 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


Page. 


Cat. 
No. 


Wayne  County  (West  Vir- 
ginia)    100  402 

Wessei.y 56  115 

West  Liberty 95  361 

Weston 48  51 

Whitfield  County    ...  96  372 

Wichita  County    ....  57  127 

Witmess 45  25 

Woiiler  Meteorite  ...  82  274 

Wold  Cottage 45  31 

Wooster 77  240 


Xiquipilco 44  22 

Yatoor 71  198 

Zaborzika 52  79 

Zaborzika  (Czartorya)    .     .  78  247 

Zacatecas 45  28 

Zebrak 53  97 

Znorow 56  115 

Zsadany 96  363 


OF    ARTS    AND    SCIENCES.  Ill 


VI. 


CONTRIBUTIONS   FROM    THE    CRYPTOGAMIC    LABORATORY   OF 
THE   MUSEUM   OF   HARVARD   UNIVERSITY. 

VII.  —  ON   THE    STRUCTURE    OF   THE   FROND   IN 
CIIAMPIA    PARVULA,  Harv. 

By  Robert  Payne  Bigelow. 

Presented  June  10,  1887. 

There  is  a  small  group  of  the  Floridece,  consisting  of  the  genera 
Chylocladia,  Lomentaria,  and  Champia,  that  is  of  particular  interest 
from  the  entirely  anomalous  condition  of  the  frond.  The  frond  is 
hollow,  is  generally  chambered,  has  thin  walls,  and  contains  peculiar 
filaments  running  longitudinally  close  to  the  inner  wall.  Of  this 
group,  Champia  parvula  and  Lomentaria  Bailey  ana  are  abundant 
along  the  New  England  coast  south  of  Cape  Cod.  The  former 
species  being  the  more  convenient,  was  selected  from  a  study 
whieh  I  began  in  November  last  at  the  suggestion  of  my  instructor 
Dr.  W.  G.  Fallow. 

In  order  to  understand  the  points  at  issue,  it  is  first  necessary  for 
us  to  get  a  general  idea  of  the  structure  of  the  plant  that  we  are 
studying.  In  general  aspect  the  frond  of  Champia  parvula  is  jointed, 
cylindrical,  and  much  branched  ;  forming  a  tuft  four  to  six  centimeters 
high.  The  branches  are  given  off  at  the  joints,  or  constrictions ; 
either  singly,  or  else  in  pairs,  or  whorled  (Plate,  Fig.  1).  If  a  portion 
of  the  frond  be  cut  open  lengthwise  and  examined  with  a  low  power 
of  the  microscope,  it  will  be  seen  to  be  chambered,  the  barrel-shaped 
chambers  being  separated  by  cellular  diaphragms  and  becoming  pro- 
gressively smaller  towards  the  apex  (Figs.  1,  2).  The  diaphragms 
are  always  at  the  joints  or  constrictions  above  referred  to. 

A  little  more  careful  attention  will  reveal  a  number  of  straight 
filaments  (Fig.  2,/)  running  from  the  base  of  a  branch  to  its  tip, 
where  they  converge.  As  far  as  my  observations  go,  the  number  of 
filaments  in  a  branch  may  vary  from  eleven  to  fifteen.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  all  the  filaments  in  each  chamber  have  projecting  from 


112 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACA.DEMY 


their  inner  side  one  or  two  little  globular  or  pear-shaped  cells  (Dia- 
gram, B).  Bulb-cells  we  might  call  these  for  want  of  a  better  name. 
With  a  little  higher  power  than  is  necessary  for  making  out  these 


Diagram  of  a  Longitudinal  Section  of  a  Tip  of  C.  parvula. 

A,  the  apex ;  B,  bulb-cell ;  C,  cortex ;  D,  diaphragm ;   E,  connection  between  filament  and 
cortex ;   F,  filament. 

points,  one  may  observe  that  each  filament  is  composed  of  a  single 
row  of  long  cylindrical  cells  united  by  their  ends.  There  are  three 
or  four  of  these  cells  to  a  chamber.  The  bulb-cell  is  always  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  middle  of  the  (ilameut  cell  to  which  it  is  attached  ; 
and  opposite  to  it,  that  is,  on  the  outer  side,  the  filament  is  usually 
connected  with  the  cortex,  often  by  means  of  a  short  slender  cell. 
The  filaments  pass  through  the  diaphragms  practically  unchanged. 
Usually  it  is  the  middle  part  of  the  penetrating  filament  cell  that  is 
in  immediate  contact  with  the  diaphragm,  and  the  ends  of  two  fila- 
ment cells  never  meet  in  the  plane  of  the  diaphragm.  Moreover,  this 
filament  cell  that  penetrates  the  diaphragm  never  bears  a  bulb-cell,  as 
far  as  I  have  seen.  I  can  discover  no  direct  connection  between  the 
filaments  of  one  branch  and  those  in  the  rest  of  the  plant.  They 
merely  converge  into  a  small  space  at  the  base  of  the  branch  opposite 
the  diaphragm  of  the  main  stem,  and  there  they  end. 


OF   ARTS    AND    SCIENCES.  113 

The  wall  of  the  frond,  or  cortex,  and  the  diaphragms,  are  each  com- 
posed of  a  single  layer  of  cells  very  similar  in  size  and  shape.  In 
shape  these  cells  are  somewhat  flattened  on  their  free  sides,  while 
those  portions  in  contact  are  polygonal.  Of  the  three  dimensions  of 
the  cell,  the  one  at  right  angles  to  the  layer  is  the  shortest  in  the 
adult  cells  of  both  the  diaphragms  and  the  cortex.  In  the  older  cells 
of  the  cortex  the  longitudinal  diameter  tends  to  become  the  longest. 
Towards  the  tip  of  the  plant,  the  radial  diameter  of  the  cells  of  the 
cortical  layer  does  not  decrease  much  until  very  near  the  apex,  but  the 
other  two  diameters  decrease  more  rapidly,  so  that  the  cells  become 
columnar  (Fig.  2).  The  whole  plant  is  covered  with  an  apparently 
gelatinous  cuticle,  and  the  chambers  contain  what  appears  from  alco- 
holic material  to  be  a  viscid  fluid.  It  becomes  hardened  in  alcohol, 
and  is  easily  stained. 

All  this  is  by  way  of  introduction  to  a  more  careful  examination  of 
the  tip  of  the  plant,  which  it  will  be  necessary  to  make  in  order  to  see 
just  how  growth  takes  place  there,  and  to  discover,  if  we  can,  how  the 
cells  of  the  cortex  and  of  the  longitudinal  filaments  arise,  and  what  is 
the  origin  of  the  bulb-cells  and  of  the  diaphragms.  The  material  that 
I  used  in  my  attempt  to  answer  these  questions  was  collected  by  Dr. 
Farlow  at  Wood's  Holl,  and  preserved  in  moderately  strong  alcohol. 
From  the  smallness  and  delicacy  of  the  object  to  be  studied,  and  the 
consequent  difficulty  of  making  free-hand  sections,  it  was  evident  that 
nothing  more  was  to  be  discovered  by  that  means  than  what  I  have 
already  described.  I  therefore  attempted  to  apply  the  methods  now 
in  use  by  all  animal  histologists,  of  imbedding  in  paraffine  and  section- 
ing with  the  microtome  into  ribbons.  As  the  tissues  of  this  plant 
contain  larger  cavities  with  comparatively  very  thin  walls  my  chief 
difficulty  was  to  get  this  tissue  into  the  paraffine  without  allowing  it 
to  collapse.  Another  difficulty  was  that  when  I  stained  with  aniline 
colors  they  would  become  washed  out  during  the  subsequent  manipu- 
lation. 

Both  difficulties  were  avoided  quite  successfully  in  the  following 
manner.  My  material  was  put  into  70%  alcohol.  From  this,  por- 
tions that  I  wished  to  section  were  transferred  to  90%  alcohol  to 
harden.  After  being  hardened,  the  specimen  was  stained.  If  it  was 
to  be  stained  with  some  coal-tar  color,  I  used  a  very  strong  solution 
in  90%  alcohol.  If  I  wanted  to  get  a  hematoxylin  stain,  I  trans- 
ferred the  specimen  back  to  70%  alcohol  and  used  Klemenberg's 
method,  or,  more  frequently,  this  method  with  the  calcium  chloride 
omitted.  After  remaining  in  the  stain  about  forty-eight  hours,  if  the 
vol.  xxin.  (x.  s  xv  )  8 


114  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

stain  was  hamiatoxylin,  the  specimen  was  partly  decolorized  in  the 
usual  manner  with  very  dilute  hydrochloric  acid  in  70%  alcohol ;  if 
the  stain  was  some  aniline,  the  surplus  stain  was  simply  washed  out 
in  the  90%  alcohol  into  which  the  specimen  was  always  put  next. 
From  90%  alcohol  it  was  transferred  to  absolute  alcohol,  then  allowed 
to  sink  through  alsolute  alcohol  into  chloroform,  then  put  into  pure 
chloroform.  I  then  used  a  slight  modification  of  the  familiar  chloro- 
form method  of  imbedding  in  paraffine.  I  employed  three  mixtures  of 
soft  paraffine  and  chloroform.  No.  1  was  a  saturated  solution  ;  No.  2 
was  two  volumes  of  No.  1  plus  one  volume  of  chloroform  ;  No.  3  was 
one  volume  of  No.  1  plus  two  volumes  of  chloroform.  The  prepara- 
tion was  passed  from  pure  chloroform  into  No.  3,  into  No.  2,  and  then 
into  No.  1.  After  the  preparation  was  thoroughly  saturated  with 
solution  No.  1,  the  vial  was  uncorked  and  warmed  until  the  chloroform 
was  all  evaporated,  or  very  nearly  so.  After  this  the  specimen  was 
put  into  the  soft  paraffine  bath,  from  this  into  the  hard  paraffine,  and 
then  imbedded,  sectioned  in  ribbons,  and  mounted  with  Schallibaum's 
fixative  and  benzole  balsam  in  the  usual  way. 

In  staining  I  obtained  the  best  results  with  hematoxylin.  It  brings 
out  the  cell  walls  and  nuclei  well.  Eosin  shows  the  protoplasmic  con- 
tents of  the  cells  better,  but  leaves  the  boundaries  indistinct.  I  obtained 
fair  results  with  methyl-violet  and  safranin. 

It  may  be  well  before  proceeding  farther  to  examine  the  literature 
that  bas  already  appeared  bearing  on  our  subject.  The  first  publica- 
tion of  interest  in  this  connection  is  by  Carl  Nageli.  In  "  Die  Neuern 
Algensystem,"  (Zurich,  F.  Schulthess,  1847,  p.  246,)  he  treats  of  the 
structure  of  Lomentaria  kaliformis  and  of  its  method  of  growth.  After 
describing  the  thallus  as  hollow,  jointed,  and  with  whorled  branches, 
the  joints  being  separated  by  cellular  diaphragms,  he  goes  on  to  say 
that  at  the  tip  of  the  branch  there  is  an  apical  cell  (Scheitelzelle)  which 
he  supposes  to  divide  by  oblique  partitions.  He  does  not  seem  to 
have  made  this  out  very  clearly,  however.  He  says  that  the  wall  of 
the  thallus  is  two-layered,  and  he  {wints  out  that  in  the  younger  portion 
each  of  the  outer  cells  abuts  against  a  smaller  inner  cell.  The  outer 
cells  divide  perpendicularly  to  the  thallus,  each  into  three  or  more, 
and  thus  the  cortex  is  formed;  while  the  inner  cells  do  not  divide,  but 
become  extended  longitudinally  and  form  the  longitudinal  filaments. 
Nageli  finds  fifteen  of  these  filaments  in  the  adult  frond.  Their  com- 
ponent cells,  are  so  elongated  that  it  only  takes  two  of  them  to  reach 
the  length  of  a  joint.  Upon  the  inner  side  of  each  of  these  cells  near 
its  middle  there  is  a  small  globular  or  pear-shaped  cell,  or  sometimes 


OP   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES.  115 

two  or  three  of  them  whorled.  He  says  they  seemed  to  be  formed  by 
an  outgrowth  from  the  lonsr  cell. 

A  paper  appeared  in  1882*  by  Dr.  G.  Berthold,  in  which  he  inci- 
dentally gives  a  general  description  of  structure  and  method  of  growth 
in  Champia  parvula,  Lomentaria  kaliformis,  Chylochladia  reflexa, 
Harv.,  and  Ch.   mediterranea,  J.   Ag. 

He  gives  a  diagram  of  the  tip  of  Champia  parvula,  and  points  out 
that  there  is  not  a  single  apical  cell,  but  a  group  of  them,  and  accord- 
ing to  him  they  are  arranged  in  a  very  definite  way.  At  the  apex 
four  of  these  cells  form  a  cross,  only  two  of  them  however  meeting 
in  the  middle.  From  the  outer  side  of  each  of  these  cells  is  given 
off  a  row  of  cells  derived  from  this  apical  cell,  and  very  gradually 
increasing:  in  width.  In  the  angles  of  the  cross  thus  formed  are 
four  other  apical  cells  which  give  rise  to  similar  rows ;  and  then  the 
remaining  space  is  filled  by  a  third  series,  usually  of  eight  apical  cells 
and  their  progeny,  making  in  all  sixteen  rows  of  cells  each  headed  by 
an  apical  cell.  The  cells  of  these  rows  are  flattened  at  right  angles 
to  the  axis,  and  give  rise  to  other  cells  by  oblique  division.  According 
to  Berthold,  these  second  cells  may  divide  again  in  like  manner,  thus 
forming  the  peripheral  covering  cells,  while  the  first  do  not  divide, 
but  become  much  enlarged. 

Berthold  was  the  first  to  point  out  that  the  longitudinal  filaments  of 
the  adult  frond  correspond  exactly  in  number  and  position  to  the  api- 
cal cells  in  Champia. 

In  1886,  in  a  paper  by  N.  Wille,t  we  again  come  across  a  study  of 
Lomentaria  kaliformis.  He  finds  in  this  species  a  conical  apical  cell, 
which,  dividing  in  several  directions,  sometimes  parallel  to  its  base, 
sometimes  at  right  angles  to  the  surface  of  the  thallus,  gives  rise  to 
other  cells.  These  cells  again  divide  into  an  inner  small  cell  and  an 
outer  large  one,  the  outer  one  dividing  again  into  two.  The  outer 
cells  are  the  only  ones  in  which  division  continues.  The  inner  ones 
do  not  divide,  but,  elongating,  produce  the  longitudinal  filaments. 
Wille  hints  that  the  diaphragms  are  derived  from  these  filaments,  but 
he  does  not  tell  how. 

Summing  this  up,  we  see  that  Niigeli  thinks  there  is  a  single  api- 
cal cell  in  Lomentaria  kaliformis  ;  and  Wille  describes  one  very  clearly 

*  Berthold,  Dr.  G.,  Beitriige  zur  Morphologie  und  Physiologie  der  Meersal- 
gen.    Jahrbucher  f.  wiss.  Botanik,  Bd.  XIII.,  1882,  p.  686. 

+  Wille,  N.,  Beitrage  zur  Entwickelungsgeschichte  der  physiol.  Gewebesys- 
teme  bei  einigen  Algengattungen.  Bot.  Centralblatt,  1886,  VII.,  Qr.  XXVI. 
p.  86.       . 


116  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

for  this  species,  but  does  not  figure  it.  On  the  other  hand,  Berthold 
finds  a  cluster  of  apical  cells  in  the  tip  of  Champia  parvula,  of  which 
he  gives  a  diagram.  The  only  thing  bearing  on  the  other  problems 
suggested  by  our  preliminary  examination  of  Champia  is  Wille's  hint 
that  the  diaphragms  are  derived  from  the  filaments. 

My  observations  on  the  apical  growth  in  Champia  agree  in  the  main 
with  Berthold's,  as  far  as  his  go.  I  do  not  find  so  great  regularity  here, 
however,  as  Berthold  would  give  one  to  understand  to  exist.  Accord- 
ing to  my  observations,  on  looking  down  upon  a  tip  of  the  plant,  or 
in  examining  cross  sections  of  it,  a  number  of  rows  of  cells  are  to  be 
seen  converging  towards  a  common  point,  the  apex  (Figs.  4,  5,  6). 
Three  or  four  of  these  rows  meet  at  the  apex,  into  the  angles  formed 
by  them  are  pushed  an  equal  number  of  other  rows,  and  the  remaining 
space  is  filled  with  a  third  series.  I  have  found  the  number  of  these 
rows  to  vary  from  eleven  to  fifteen,  but  always  to  equal  the  number 
of  longitudinal  filaments  in  the  branch,  as  Berthold  has  pointed  out 
(Figs.  6  and  8).  The  reason  for  this  will  be  seen  when  the  origin  of 
the  latter  is  understood. 

At  the  head  of  each  of  these  rows,  that  is,  at  the  part  nearest  its 
apex,  there  is  a  cell  somewhat  larger  than  those  directly  beneath  it 
(Figs.  3  and  5).  This  cell  gives  rise  to  others  of  the  row  by  anticli- 
nal division  ;  that  is,  by  forming  partitions  at  right  angles  at  once  to  the 
surface  of  the  frond  and  to  the  axis  of  the  row.  So  each  of  these 
cells  at  the  heads  of  the  rows  is  a  true  apical  cell  (Scheitelzelle  of  the 
German  botanists).  Each  one  is  in  the  shape  of  a  triangular  pyramid 
with  rounded  sides.  The  apex  of  the  pyramid  is  directed  inward, 
while  the  base  lies  at  the  surface  of  the  frond.  The  length  of  the 
pyramid  is  10  to  15/x,  while  the  width  at  the  base  varies  from  5  to  10/a. 
The  cells  formed  by  the  division  of  the  apical  cells  which  are  at  the 
middle  of  the  cluster,  meet  in  the  middle  line  below  the  apical  cell 
(Fig.  3).  And  all  of  these  daughter  cells,  whether  they  meet  in 
the  middle  or  not,  appear  somewhat  crescent-shaped  when  close  to 
their  apical  cell.  They  do  not  divide  usually  until  removed  several 
cells  from  it  by  division  of  the  apical  cell.  They  then  divide,  each  by 
a  partition  parallel  to  the  surface  of  the  frond,  at  about  a  fourth  or  a 
third  of  the  length  of  the  cell  from  its  inner  end  (Fig.  3).  It  is 
probable  that  the  branches  have  their  origin  at  this  point,  as  explained 
later.  The  outer  cell  thus  formed  divides  again  into  two  or  three  cells 
(Fig.  6),  and  these  may  again  divide.  This  division  is  by  means  of 
partitions  which  are  at  right  angles  to  the  surface  of  the  plant  and 
oblique  to  the  original  cell  wall.     The  result  of  all  this  is  the  irregular 


OF  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  117 

mass  of  cells  which  forms  the  cortical  layer  or  wall  of  the  frond.  The 
set  of  cells  derived  from  each  apical  cell  is  easily  distinguished  within 
an  area  of  forty  micro-millimeters  from  the  apex,  because  the  cells  hav- 
ing a  common  origin  are  separated  from  each  other  within  this  region 
by  thinner  cell  walls  than  those  separating  cells  of  different  origin,  as 
shown  in  the  figure.  Below  this  area  the  cell  walls  become  of  equal 
thickness  Cell  division  takes  place  chiefly  within  a  short  distance 
from  the  apex ;  below  that,  growth  takes  place  principally  by  enlarge- 
ment of  the  cells.  "Within  the  area  of  division  the  cells  are  filled  with 
protoplasm  and  have  very  evident  nuclei.  The  nuclei  in  the  cortical 
layer  are  usually  in  the  lower  half  of  the  cell.  Below  this  area  around 
the  apex  the  cells  contain  large  vacuoles  and  the  nuclei  become  much 
less  prominent,  while  the  protoplasm  becomes  more  coarsely  granular. 
The  inner  cells  above  mentioned  as  the  result  of  the  first  division  below 
the  apex  do  not  divide  at  right  angles  to  the  surface  of  the  plant ;  at 
least,  if  they  do,  it  is  a  much  less  frequent  process  than  in  outer  cells ; 
but  many  of  them,  perhaps  all,  do  divide  once  or  twice  by  partitions 
parallel  to  the  surface  (Fig.  8).  As  the  cortical  layer  grows,  in- 
creasing the  length  and  diameter  of  that  part  of  the  frond,  these 
inner  cells  merely  elongate,  while  they  become  separated  laterally, 
and  so  form  the  longitudinal  filaments;  as  described  by  Wille  for 
Lomentaria. 

By  means  of  the  division  parallel  to  the  surface  just  mentioned 
are  produced  the  "bulb-cells,''  and  the  connections  behind  them  with 
the  cortical  layers  (Fig.  8).  The  "bulb-cells"  attain  their  adult 
size  very  soon  after  their  formation.  At  intervals  of  three  cells  or 
more,  on  certain  filaments,  division  is  carried  further,  until  the  pro- 
cesses pushed  out  from  them  in  this  way  meet  in  the  middle  of  the 
cavity  (Fig.  9).  The  spaces  between  these  processes  are  filled  by 
similar  ones  from  the  other  filaments,  and  in  this  way  the  diaphragm 
is  formed.  At  first  the  diaphragm  shows  very  plainly  its  origin  in 
branches  from  the  filaments.  The  cells  are  rounded,  contain  prom- 
inent nuclei,  and  in  short  look  just  like  the  young  filament  cells. 
Then  the  cells  of  each  of  the  component  branches  are  separated  from 
each  other  by  thinner  walls  than  those  which  separate  them  from  the 
other  cells.  This  formation  of  the  diaphragm  occurs  about  thirty  micro- 
millimeters  from  the  surface  of  the  apex.  The  young  diaphragm  keeps 
pace  with  the  rapid  growth  of  the  adjacent  parts  of  the  plant,  and  thus 
preserves  its  continuity,  by  further  cell  division  and  by  increase  in  the 
size  of  the  cells.  These  cells  finally  become  polygonal  from  mutual 
pressure,  the  cell  walls  become  equally  thick  on  all  sides,  and  it  be- 


118  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

comes  impossible  to  distinguish  the  cells,  which  had  a  common  origin 
(Fig.  12).  The  original  filament  cell  does  not  increase  in  diameter 
with  the  diaphragm  cells,  but  becomes  elongated  with  the  other  fila- 
ment cells  (Fig.  2). 

It  will  be  observed  from  the  figures  that  the  filaments  that  come 
from  the  apical  cells  nearest  the  middle  of  the  cluster  (Figs.  5  and  6) 
show  more  divisions  than  the  others  in  the  space  above  the  young 
diaphragm  (Fig.  8).  The  cells  derived  from  them  reach  the  centre 
of  the  diaphragm,  while  the  others  do  not  (Fig.  9),  and  these  filaments 
are  the  first  to  give  off  bulb-cells  below  the  diaphragm  (Fig.  10). 
With  the  exception  of  the  branches  given  off  to  form  the  diaphragm, 
the  filaments  do  not  branch.  Each  filament  is  perfectly  simple  and 
straight  from  its  base  to  the  apical  cell  at  the  other  end. 

The  question  as  to  the  origin  of  the  branches  naturally  arises  now. 
I  have  not  been  able  to  get  the  earliest  stages,  but  I  am  sure  they  are 
to  be  looked  for  very  close  to  the  apex  of  the  plant,  for  the  nearer  you 
get  to  the  apex  the  smaller  branches  you  find.  Occasionally,  to  be 
sure,  branches  a  few  chambers  long  may  be  found  below  much  larger 
branches  ;  but  still  I  think  these  are  formed  earlier  than  those  above 
them,  but  are  prevented  from  growth  by  some  accident.  It  seems 
probable  that  the  branch  will  be  found  to  arise  by  division  of  one  of 
the  outer  cells,  already  described  as  the  result  of  the  cell  division  close 
to  the  apex.  At  any  rate,  a  branch  was  seen  to  spring  from  a  point 
directly  opposite  a  filament,  in  all  the  half-dozen  cases  that  I  examined 
concerning  this. 

Comparing  my  description  of  Champia  parvula  with  the  description 
of  Lomentaria  kaliformis  by  Nageli  and  Wille,  there  will  be  noticed 
a  striking  similarity  in  general  structure  and  in  the  details  of  growth, 
so  far  as  either  Nageli  or  Wille  describes  them,  except  in  regard  to 
the  apical  cell.  Further  investigation  is  necessary  to  explain  this 
remarkable  difference  in  two  species  otherwise  so  much  alike. 

In  order  to  see  if  they  might  throw  any  light  on  my  subject  I  have 
made  a  hasty  examination  of  some  alcoholic  material  of  Champia  sali- 
cornoides,  Harv.,  from  Key  West,  and  of  Lomentaria  Baileyana.  The 
former  has  an  apical  growth  identical  with  that  in  Champia  parvula, 
and  does  not  differ  very  greatly  in  structure  from  that  species.  The 
frond  is  much  larger,  but  the  individual  cells  are  of  about  the  same  size. 
The  branches  in  Champia  salicomoides  do  not  come  off  at  the  nodes, 
but  may  spring  from  any  part  of  the  internodes.  At  the  base  of  each 
brauch  is  a  layer  of  cells  smaller  than  those  in  the  wall  of  the  main 
stem,  but  it  is  apparently  a  continuation  of  that  structure.      Then 


OP   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES.  119 

inside  of  this  is  a  circular  patch  of  rounded  cells  twice  as  large  as 
the  ordinary  cells  of  the  wall.  So  that  the  basal  chamber  of  the 
side  branch  is  separated  from  the  chamber  of  the  main  branch  by  two 
layers  of  cells.  There  are  a  good  many  more  filaments  in  this  species 
than  there  are  in  Champia  parvula,  and  each  filament  has  about  seveu 
cells  to  a  chamber.  On  each  of  the  filament  cells  except  those  piercing 
the  diaphragms  there  is  a  bulb-cell,  or  there  may  be  a  pair  of  them 
together.  The  cells  that  connect  the  filaments  with  the  cortical  layer 
are  sometimes  enlarged,  and  bear  bulb-cells  similar  to  those  on  the  fila- 
ments. The  branches  spring  from  a  cortical  layer  directly  opposite 
a  filament,  as  in  Champia  parvula,  and  in  the  one  specimen  that  I 
examined  on  this  point  I  found  a  bulb-cell  at  the  centre  of  the  base  of 
the  branch. 

Lomentaria  Baileyana  is  very  different  from  Champia.  There  are 
no  diaphragms  in  the  frond  except  across  the  base  of  the  branches. 
Inside  the  cortical  layer,  which  resembles  the  one  in  Champia,  is  a 
network  with  rather  small  meshes,  composed  of  oblong  cells  whose 
long  axes  run  more  or  less  obliquely  in  the  direction  of  their  part  of 
the  plant.  Inside  of  this  network  is  another,  with  large  meshes, 
and  formed  by  slender  crooked  and  branched  filaments,  on  which  are 
found  occasionally  bulb-cells  like  those  in  Champia.  The  filaments 
seem  to  come  together  at  the  tip  in  a  sort  of  tuft,  in  which  I  can  see 
no  regular  order. 

I  have  also  examined  some  dried  material  of  Lomentaria  Coulteri. 
The  main  stems  of  this  plant  are  without  constrictions  and  solid,  while 
the  small  side  branches  are  chambered,  and  superficially  resemble  Cham- 
pia. The  whole  plant  is  covered  with  a  cortical  layer  of  small  colum- 
nar cells,  well  filled  with  protoplasm,  and  containing  the  coloring  matter. 
The  bulk  of  the  main  stem  is  of  ordinary  parenchyma,  the  cells  con- 
taining but  little  protoplasm.  The  chambered  branches  have  a  single 
layer  of  this  tissue  lining  the  cortex,  and  it  also  forms  the  single-layered 
diaphragms.  The  filaments  in  the  chambered  portion  somewhat  resemble 
those  in  Lomentaria  Baileyana,  but  resemble  more  closely  those  in 
Champia  parvula.  They  plainly  converge  to  a  point  at  the  apex  of 
the  branch ;  but  just  what  the  structure  is  there,  the  material  was  in- 
sufficient to  show. 

We  have  to  leave  our  subject  for  the  present  in  an  unsettled,  and 
therefore  rather  unsatisfactory  condition.  In  order  to  get  a  complete 
understanding  of  these  hollow-fronded  sea-weeds,  the  development  of 
one  or  more  of  them  must  be  traced  from  the  spore  to  the  adult  stage. 
The  present  paper  can,  however,  lay  claim  to  having  added  its  little  to 


120  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

our  knowledge  of  these  plants,  in  making  clear,  —  1.  That  in  the  case 
of  Champia  parvula  the  apical  growth  is  not  from  a  single  apical  cell, 
but,  as  Berthold  has  pointed  out,  from  a  cluster  of  them ;  2.  That 
each  of  these  apical  cells  is  morphologically  at  the  tip  of  one  of  the 
longitudinal  filaments  ;  3.  That  in  the  three  or  four  cells  which  seem 
to  be  morphologically  the  tip  of  the  filament  each  cell  divides,  part 
going  to  form  parts  of  the  adult  filament,  the  rest  to  join  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  cortex ;  4.  That  the  diaphragms  and  bulb-cells  are  alike  in 
origin,  iu  being  formed  by  outgrowths  from  the  filaments ;  and,  5.  It 
would  appear  from  the  limited  number  of  observations  made  on  this 
point  that  the  branches  always  have  their  origin  opposite  a  filauient. 


NOTE. 

In  October,  1886,  Mr.  Bigelow,  then  a  candidate  for  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Science,  undertook,  at  my  suggestion,  the  investigation  the  results  of  which  are 
given  in  the  preceding  pages.  At  the  time,  I  was  not  aware  that  any  other 
botanist  was  working  on  the  same  subject,  and  it  was  not  until  April,  1887,  that  I 
learned  from  the  "  Botanisches  Centralblatt "  that  Professor  F.  Deb  ray  had  just 
published  a  paper  entitled  "  Recherches  sur  la  Structure  et  le  De'veloppement  du 
Thalle  des  Chijclocladia,  Champia  et  Lomentaria,"  covering  the  same  ground  as 
that  on  which  Mr.  Bigelow  was  at  work.  I  was  unable  to  obtain  a  copy  of  the 
original  paper  of  Professor  Debray,  published  in  the  "  Bulletin  Scientifique  du 
Departement  du  Nord,"  IX.  253-266,  until  late  in  May,  and  as  at  that  time 
Mr.  Bigelow  had  practically  finished  his  work,  it  seemed  to  me  best  that  he 
should  publish  his  results,  although  they  were  in  accord  with  those  of  Professor 
Debray.  It  should  be  said,  in  explanation  of  the  omission  by  Mr.  Bigelow  of 
any  reference  to  Professor  Debray's  paper,  that  he  did  not  see  a  copy  of  it  until 
after  his  own  paper  was  quite  finished  and  in  my  hands  for  publication.  Had  I 
known  at  an  earlier  day  that  Professor  Debray  was  at  work  on  this  subject,  I 
should,  of  course,  have  suggested  a  different  topic  to  Mr.  Bigelow.  As  it  is,  his 
work  is  a  confirmation  of  previous  results  reached  quite  independently,  because, 
as  I  have  said,  he  was  in  complete  ignorance  of  what  had  been  written  by 
Professor  Debray  until  after  his  article  was  finished. 

W.  G.  Faulow. 


X 


BIGELOW.-  CHAMP/A. 


Oiv      lOn 


.'K.ra^Bu,  c&.o&r&iX. 


JCrbesOvbostok. 


OF   ARTS  AND  SCIENCES.  121 


EXPLANATION   OF  THE   PLATE. 

All  the  figures  are  of  Champia  parvula.  Fig.  2  is  from  a  free-hand  section 
mounted  in  glycerine  and  acetic  acid.  It  is  drawn  chiefly  with  the  camera- 
lucida,  but  in  places  is  slightly  diagrammatic.  The  other  figures  are  strictly 
camera-lucida  drawings.  Those  beyond  Fig.  2  are  made  from  stained  micro- 
tome sections  mounted  in  benzol  balsam. 

Fig.  1.  A  small  branch,  with  a  portion  of  the  larger  one  from  which  it 
sprang.     X  -j1. 

Fig.  2.  Interior  view  of  the  upper  portion  of  a  branch,  a,  apex  ;  6,  bulb-cell; 
c,  cortex ;  d,  diaphragm ;  f.  filament ;  e,  connection  between  the  filament  and 
the  cortex.     X  -Ll-- 

Fig.  3.  Longitudinal  section  of  a  tip  passing  through  the  apex,  a,  apical 
cell ;  the  other  letters  as  above.     X  2^s~- 

Figs.  4-10.  A  series  of  transverse  sections  from  a  single  tip.  They  are  about 
5fj.  thick.  Figs.  4-7  are  a  continuous  series,  Fig.  4  being  the  extreme  tip.  Figs. 
8  and  9  are  the  sixth  and  seventh  sections  of  the  series,  and  Fig.  10  is  the  tenth. 
Figs  4, 5,  and  6  show  the  converging  rows  of  cells,  each  headed  by  an  apical  cell. 
In  Fig.  7  we  get  the  beginning  of  the  cavity.  Fig.  8  shows  the  condition  just 
above  the  young  diaphragm,  which  appears  in  Fig.  9.  Fig.  10  is  the  first  section 
that  cleared  the  diaphragm  below.  By  comparing  with  Fig.  3,  it  will  be  seen  that 
these  sections  are  oblique  to  the  axis  of  all  the  cells  in  them,  except  those  very 
near  to  the  middle  of  the  section.  1,  2,  3,  etc.,  indicate  corresponding  areas  in 
the  different  sections.     X  ^f-- 

Fig.  12.    Transverse  section  of  another  branch  through  the  third  diaphragm. 

Fig.  11.  Second  section  above  Fig.  12.  In  these  two  sections  we  have  very 
nearly  the  adult  condition.     X  ^f2-. 


122  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


VII. 


CONTRIBUTIONS  FROM    THE   CHEMICAL    LABORATORY    OF 
HARVARD    COLLEGE.  — J.  P.  Cooke,  Director. 

SILICOTETRAFLUORIDES   OF   CERTAIN   BASES. 

* 

By  Arthur  M.  Comey  and  F.  W.  Smith. 

Presented  November  8,  1887. 

Supplementary  to  the  investigations*  made  by  C.  Loring  Jackson 
and  one  of  us  on  the  action  of  fluoride  of  silicon  on  organic  bases,  we 
have  further  tried  the  action  of  fluoride  of  silicon  on  nitrosodimethyl- 
aniline,  pyridine,  cinchonine,  and  quinine. 

Trinitrosodimethylanilhie  disilicotetrafluoride,  (CsH10NaO8)a(SiF4)2. 
—  This  compound  was  formed  by  passing  fluoride  of  silicon  through  a 
solution  of  the  base  in  benzol.  A  lemon-yellow  precipitate  was  formed, 
which  was  washed  thoroughly  with  benzol  and  dried  at  100°.  The 
following  results  were  obtained  from  the  analysis  of  this  product : 

0.1822  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0345  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide  and 
0.0936  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 


Calculated  for 

(C8U10N2O3)3(SiF4)2. 

Found. 

Silicon 

8.54 

8.83 

Fluorine 

23.09 

23.25 

Trinitrosodimethylaniline  disilicotetrafluoride  is  a  bright  yellow 
amorphous  powder,  which  is  decomposed  by  water,  with  separation 
of  silicic  dioxide,  and  decomposes  completely  with  slight  explosion 
when  heated  above  150°. 

Dipyridlne  silicotetrafluoride,  (C5H3N)2SiF4. —  This  substance  was 
prepared  by  passing  fluoride  of  silicon  through  a  solution  of  pyri- 
dine in  benzol,  whereupon  it  separates  out  in  the  form  of  a  heavy 
voluminous  precipitate,  which  when  washed  with  benzol  and  dried, 
and  immediately  analyzed,  gave  the  following  results : 

*  Ante,  p.  20. 


Calculated  for 

(CBH5N)2SiP4. 

Silicon 

10.77 

Fluoriue 

29.00 

OP  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  123 

0.3132  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0925  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide  and 
0.2039  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 


Found. 

10.81 
29.45 

Dipyridine  silicotetrafluoride  is  a  pure  white  amorphous  powder, 
which  decomposes  upon  standing,  giving  off  pyridine  and  forming 
tripyridine  disilicotetrafluoride. 

Tripyridine  disilicotetrafluoride,  (C5H.N)3(SiF4)2.  —  This  com- 
pound is  formed  by  subliming  the  previous  substance.  Pyridine  is 
given  off  and  tripyridine  disilicotetrafluoride  sublimes,  forming  a  crust 
possessing  a  distinct  crystalline  structure.  It  is  extremely  deliques- 
cent and  was  not  obtained  in  a  pure  state  for  analysis.  The  following 
results  of  the  analysis  of  the  slightly  deliquesced  substance  leave  no 
doubt  as  to  its  true  constitution. 

0.1743  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  0.0443  grm.  of  silicic  dioxide  and 
0.1218  grm.  of  sodic  fluoride. 

d  for 

Found. 

11.86 
32.16 

When  fluoride  of  silicon  was  passed  into  the  ethereal  solutions  of 
cinchonine  or  quinine,  a  gummy  substance  separated,  which  probably 
possessed  a  constitution  similar  to  that  of  the  above  substances. 

The  constitution  of  these  substances  has  been  discussed  at  length 
in  a  previous  paper*  by  C.  Loring  Jackson  and  one  of  us.  It  remains 
only  to  add,  that  the  compounds  of  which  dianiline  silicotetrafluoride 
is  the  type  seem  to  be  formed  first.  These  are  very  unstable,  giving 
up  one  molecule  of  the  base  with  the  greatest  ease  to  form  compounds 
corresponding  to  trianiline  disilicotetrafluoride.  This  extra  molecule 
of  the  base  in  most  cases  is  separated  by  merely  washing  with  a  sol- 
vent as  benzol,  as  in  the  case  of  aniline,  toluidine,  diphenylamine, 
chinoline,  etc.  In  others,  as  dimethylamine  and  pyridine,  the  extra 
molecule  is  only  given  off  upon  standing,  or  by  the  action  of  heat. 

Boron  trifluoride  gave  products  with  organic  bases  which  apparently 
possess  an  analogous  constitution,  but  the  substances  formed  were  not 
further  investigated. 


Calculated  for 

(C5H5N),(SiF4), 

ilicon 

12.68 

luorine 

34.14 

*»" 


*  Ante,  p. 


124  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

According  to  SchifF,*  stannic  tetrachloride  forms  an  addition  product 
with  aniline,  of  the  composition  (CGH.N)4,SnCl4.  With  diphenyl- 
amine,  however,  we  obtained  by  the  action  of  stannic  tetrachloride  a 
product,  melting  at  180-181°,  containing  no  tin  ;  chlorine  was  present 
in  large  quantity.  The  investigation  of  the  action  of  stannic  tetra- 
chloride on  organic  bases  will  be  contiuued  by  one  of  us. 

The  above  work  was  done  in  the  Summer  School  of  Chemistry  at 
Harvard   College. 

*  Jahresbericht,  1863,  p.  412. 


OF   ARTS    AND   SCIENCES.  125 


VIII. 


AN    EMPIRICAL    RULE    FOR    CONSTRUCTING    TELE- 
PHONE  CIRCUITS. 

By  William  W.  Jacques. 

Presented  June  15,  1887. 

The  following  paper  describes  some  investigations  I  have  made  as  to 
the  proper  dimensions  to  be  given  to  pole  lines  and  cable  conductors, 
in  order  that  they  shall  be  best  fitted  to  transmit  speech  telephonically. 

The  experiments  were  made  by  selecting  cables  varying  in  size 
of  conductor,  thickness  of  insulating  coating,  and  material  used  for 
insulating,  and  measuring  in  each  case  the  greatest  length  in  miles 
through  which  good  business  conversation  could  be  carried  on. 

Similar  experiments  were  then  made  with  pole  lines,  in  which  the 
size  of  the  wire  was  varied,  the  distance  it  was  suspended  above  the 
earth  was  varied,  and  both  iron  and  copper  wires  were  used. 

Further  experiments  were  then  made  in  which  mixed  cable  and 
pole  lines  were  used,  varying  the  proportionate  length  of  cable  to  pole 
line  in  each  case,  and  also  the  position  of  the  cables  in  the  line. 

These  experiments  were  made  upon  a  large  number  of  underground 
cables,  varying  in  length  from  one  mile  to  one  hundred  miles,  in  re- 
sistance per  mile  from  2.8  ohms  to  48.0  ohms  and  in  electro-static 
capacity  per  mile  from  0.11  microfarad  to  0.35  microfarad,  in  use  in 
France  and  Germany,  (an  abstract  of  which  was  published  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Arts  of  November  13,  1884,)  and  were 
continued  upon  a  large  number  of  cables  and  pole  lines  in  our  own 
country. 

The  method  of  experiment  was  to  connect  up  varying  lengths  of 
cable  or  pole  line  until  the  greatest  length  at  which  it  was  possible  to 
transmit  good  business  conversation  was  reached,  and  then  to  measure 
the  electrical  resistance  and  capacity  of  the  circuit. 

Some  of  the  experiments  are  given  in  Tables  I.  to  IV.,  to  illustrate 
the  method  of  experiment,  and  prove  the  results  stated  later. 


126 


PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


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128  PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

Tables  I.  and  II.  give  the  results  of  some  experiments  made  on 
cables  ;  Table  III.,  on  pole  lines  ;  and  Table  IV.,  on  mixed  cables  and 
pole  lines.  The  numbers  showing  the  total  resistance  and  total  ca- 
pacity refer  to  the  line  between  the  terminal  instruments,  and  do  not 
include  the  terminal  instruments. 

I  find  from  these  experiments,  that  the  readiness  with  which  tele- 
phonic conversation  may  be  carried  on  over  any  circuit,  whether  made 
up  of  cables  or  pole  lines,  or  both,  depends,  — 

1.  On  the  total  electrical  resistance  of  the  circuit  joining  together 
the  two  stations. 

2.  On  the  total  electrostatic  capacity  of  this  circuit. 

So  long  as  the  insulation  is  sufficiently  good  to  prevent  any  consid- 
erable loss  of  current,  its  actual  value,  whether  high  or  low,  does  not 
affect  the  readiness  with  which  conversation  may  be  carried  on.  High 
insulation  is  desirable,  however,  when  two  or  more  wires  run  near 
together,  in  order  to  prevent  extraneous  currents  from  leaking  in  and 
causing  disturbing  noises. 

The  distance  over  which  telephonic  conversation  may  be  carried  on, 
being  thus  dependent  on  tlie  resistance  of  the  circuit  and  on  the  ca- 
pacity of  the  circuit,  (being  inversely  proportional  to  each  of  these,)  is 
dependent  upon  their  product,  and  this  product  has  a  definite  numeri- 
cal value  for  each  kind  of  transmitter  used,  being  4,500  for  trans- 
mitters of  the  Hunnings  type,  and  2,000  for  transmitters  of  the  Blake 
type ;  that  is,  the  product  of  the  total  resistance  of  the  current  be- 
tween two  telephones,  by  its  total  capacity,  must  not  exceed  4,500  if 
transmitters  of  the  Hunnings  type  be  used,  and  must  not  exceed 
2,000  if  transmitters  of  the  Blake  type  be  used.  These  results  sup- 
pose the  ordinary  Bell  hand  telephone  to  be  used  as  a  receiver,  but 
are  not  essentially  varied  by  the  use  of  other  good  forms  of  magneto 
receiver.  These  limits  are  given  for  good  business  conversation.  It 
is  of  course  possible  for  experts  to  get  messages  through  circuits  the 
product  of  whose  resistance  and  capacity  is  somewhat  greater  than 
this. 

The  resistance  and  capacity  measured  should  be,  as  stated,  that  of 
the  line  between  the  two  telephones.  It  includes,  of  course,  the  re- 
sistance and  capacity  of  any  way  station  switchboards  or  call  bells.  It 
does  not  include  the  resistances  of  the  terminal  telephone  instruments 
used. 

These  results  may  be  briefly  formulated  in  the  following  rule :  — 

"No  matter  what  may  be  the  distance  between  two  points,  good 
business  conversation  may  be  carried  on  between  them,  provided  they 


OF   AKTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


129 


be  connected  by  a  pole  line  or  cable,  or  both,  the  product  of  whose 
total  resistance  by  its  total  capacity  is  less  than  2,000  if  transmitters 
of  the  Blake  type  be  used,  and  less  than  4,500  if  transmitters  of  the 
Hunnings  type  be  used." 

This  rule  is  purely  the  result  of  experiment.  It  applies  to  a 
single  conductor  joining  together  the  two  telephones,  and  is  equally 
applicable  whether  the  return  circuit  is  completed  through  the  earth 
or  by  means  of  a  second  wire  similar  and  parallel  to  the  first.  It 
supposes  the  line  to  be  ordinarily  free  from  extraneous  noises,  and, 
as  in  positions  especially  liable  to  extraneous  noises  metallic  cir- 
cuits would  naturally  be  used,  it  is  in  all  cases  a  perfectly  safe 
working  rule. 

Having  thus  determined  the  general  rule  above  annunciated,  we 
must  be  able  to  apply  it  to  specific  cases ;  as,  for  example,  to  write  a 
specification  for  a  line  which  is  to  connect  two  cities  one  hundred 
miles  apart,  and  which  is  to  pass  from  the  centre  of  each  city  under- 
ground, two  miles,  to  the  suburbs. 

In  order  to  do  this,  we  need  to  know  the  resistance  per  mile  of 
various  sizes  of  wire,  whether  of  iron  or  copper,  and  excellent  tables 
are  published  in  various  text-books  giving  these  figures.  I  have,  for 
convenience,  printed  the  resistances  of  various  sizes  of  iron  and  copper 
wire  in  the  annexed  Tables  V.  and  VI. 

TABLE   V.  — Iron  Wire. 


No. 

Diameter  in 

Ohms 

Feet 

B.  W.  G. 

Inches. 

per  Mile. 

per  Mile. 

0000 

.454 

1.70 

3106 

000 

.425 

1.95 

2708 

00 

.380 

2.43 

2172 

0 

.340 

3.83 

1378 

1 

.300 

3.91 

1350 

2 

.284 

4.36 

1211 

3 

.259 

5.24 

1008 

4 

.238 

5.51 

958 

5 

.220 

7.26 

727 

6 

.203 

8.54 

618 

7 

.180 

10.86 

578 

8 

.165 

12.92 

409 

9 

.148 

16.10 

328 

10 

.134 

19.60 

269 

12 

.109 

29.60 

179 

14 

.083 

51.00 

104 

16 

.065 

83.20 

63 

18 

.049 

147.00 

35.9 

VOL.  XXIII.  (N.  S.  XV.) 


130 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


TABLE   VI.  — Copper  Wire. 


No. 

Diameter  in 

Ohms 

Feet 

b.  w.  a. 

Inches. 

per  Mile. 

per  Mile. 

5 

.220 

1.128 

4681 

6 

.203 

1.325 

3986 

7 

.180 

1.684 

3135 

8 

.165 

2.005 

2634 

9 

.148 

2.492 

2120 

10 

.134 

3.040 

1737 

11 

.120 

3.791 

1393 

12 

.109 

4.594 

1149 

13 

.095 

6.018 

873 

14 

.083 

7.936 

665 

15 

.072 

10.529 

502 

16 

.065 

12.918 

408.7 

17 

.058 

16.99 

310.8 

18 

.049 

22.73 

232.3 

19 

.042 

30.94 

170.6 

20 

.035 

44.55 

118.5 

22 

.028 

69.62 

75.8 

24 

.022 

112.77 

46.8 

But  we  need  also  to  know  the  capacity  per  mile  of  various  sizes  of 
pole  wire  when  suspended  at  various  heights  above  the  earth,  (for  the 
capacity  of  a  pole  wire  depends  both  upon  its  size  and  the  distance 
it  is  suspended  above  the  earth,)  and  we  need  further  to  know  the 
various  capacities  of  various  sizes  of  cable  conductors  when  insulated 
to  various  thicknesses,  and  when  insulated  with  various  substances ; 
for  the  capacity  of  a  cable  conductor  depends  upon  its  size,  upon  the 
distance  it  is  removed  from  neighboring  conductors  by  the  thickness 
of  the  insulating  coating,  and  upon  the  specific  inductive  capacity  of 
the  particular  insulating  coating  used. 

Now  the  available  data  regarding  capacities  of  pole  lines  and  of 
cables  (excepting  ocean  telegraph  cables  which  have  only  one  con- 
ductor, and  in  which  the  conductors  are  quite  different  from  that  of 
the  multiple  conductor  cables  used  in  telephony)  are  very  meagre,  and 
I  have  therefore  been  obliged  to  undertake  an  experimental  investi- 
gation into  the  capacities  of  wires  of  different  sizes,  suspended  on  poles 
of  varying  heights,  and  a  further  investigation  into  the  capacities  of 
various  sizes  of  cable  conductors  when  separated  from  the  neighbor- 
ing conductors  by  varying  thicknesses  of  insulating  material,  and 
when  insulated  with  various  materials  differing  in  specific  inductive 
capacity. 

The  results  are  given  in  Tables  VII.,  VIII.,  and  IX. 


OP   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES. 


131 


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OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


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CP  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  135 

Table  VII.  gives  the  capacities  of  wires  from  No.  0000  B.  W.  G.  to 
No.  18,  when  suspended  above  the  ground  at  heights  varying  from  20 
feet  to  50  feet. 

Of  course  I  have  not  measured  the  capacity  of  each  size  of  wire  at 
each  height,  but  I  have  chosen  a  large  variety  of  sizes  and  heights, 
and,  having  measured  these,  have  calculated  the  remainder  from  these 
by  means  of  the  formula 

a-    kl 

in  which 

C  =  capacity  of  the  lines  in  microfarads. 

/   =  length  of  line  in  miles. 

h  =  height  above  the  earth  in  inches. 

d  =  diameter  of  lines  in  inches. 

k  =  the   number   .0496,   i.  e.  the   capacity   of   such   a   wire   that 

=  unity ;   this  number  (k)  being  calculated  from  such 

log  4  A 

d 

wires  as  were  actually  measured. 

The  capacity  of  any  wire  not  given  in  the  table  may  be  calculated 
from  this  formula. 

The  capacities  thus  obtained  apply  to  a  single  wire  on  a  line  of  poles. 
If  there  are  other  wires  on  the  same  poles,  a  correction  must  be  added 
depending  upon  the  number  of  such  wires,  and  their  distance  apart. 

For  the  ordinary  case  we  meet  with  in  telephony  —  i.  e.  a  consider- 
able number  and  placed  about  18  inches  apart  —  a  sufficiently  accurate 
correction  may  be  obtained  by  adding  b0°fo. 

Table  VIII.  gives  the  capacities  of  different  sizes  of  wire  from  No.  4 
to  No.  22  B.  "W.  G.,  when  insulated  with  successive  thicknesses  of 
gutta-percha  from  .01  inch  to  .25  inch,  and  combined  into  cables  of 
fifty  conductors  and  enclosed  in  a  metallic  sheath. 

Table  IX.  is  a  similar  table,  in  which  India-rubber  is  used  for  in- 
sulating: ;  and  Table  X.  one  in  which  the  conductors  of  the  cable  are 
insulated  with  cotton  so  impregnated  with  paraffine  as  to  be  homoge- 
neous. This  table  is  applicable  to  the  so-called  Patterson  cable  if  the 
values  be  increased  by  60%. 

These  tables  were  prepared  by  measuring  a  wide  variety  of  cable 
conductors  differing  in  size  of  conductor,  thickness  of  insulating  mate- 
rial, and  kind  of  insulating  material,  and  calculating  the  remaining 
values  from  the  measured  values  by  the  formula 


136  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

NLI  NLI 


C  = 


log  2s"    log  2  d  -f  4  T 


d  d 

in  which 

C  =  capacity  of  the  conductor  in  microfarads. 

s  =  average  distance  between  centres  of  adjacent  conductors. 

d  =  diameter  of  conductor. 

21  =  thickness  of  insulating  coating  of  any  one  conductor. 

L  =  length  of  conductor  in  miles. 

I  =  specific  inductive  capacity  of  insulating  material  used. 

N=  the  number  0.0387,  i.  e.  the  capacity  of  one  mile  of  such  a  wire 

that    =  unity. 


The  number  N  is  calculated  from  values  reached  by  experiments 
on  a  large  number  of  conductors. 

The  capacity  of  any  cable  conductor  not  given  in  these  tables,  and 
insulated  with  any  material  whose  specific  inductive  capacity  is  known, 
may  be  calculated  from  this  general  rule. 

Having  thus  determined  a  general  rule  for  the  construction  of  any 
telephone  circuit,  and  having  provided  in  the  foregoing  tables  data  by 
which  the  rule  may  be  applied,  I  will  give  an  illustration,  by  apply- 
ing it  to  the  particular  case  above  cited,  namely  a  telephone  line 
between  two  cities  one  hundred  miles  apart,  entering  each  city  by 
underground  cables  two  miles  in  length. 

Let  us  further  suppose  that  the  subscriber  is  in  each  case  connected 
to  the  central  office  by  a  mile  of  undergronnd  cable,  and  that  at  each 
central  office,  there  is  a  multiple  switchboard,  any  connection  through 
which  has  a  resistance  of  25  ohms,  and  a  static  capacity  of  .10  micro- 
farad. 

It  is  desired  to  use  Blake  transmitters. 


Resistance. 

Ohms. 

Line  of  No.  13  copper  on  30  ft.  poles,  6.048  X  90  .  .  .  571 
Cable  of  No.  18  insulated  with  kerite  to  No.  10,  22.7  X  6  .  136 
Switchboard 25 


Total  resistance 732 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  137 

Capacity. 

Mf. 

Line  of  No.  13  copper  on  30  ft.  poles  (.0119  X  96  X  1.5)  1.71 
Cable  of  No.  18  insulated  with  kerite  to  No.  10,  .15  X  6  .  .90 
Switchboard 10 


Total  capacity 2.71 

Product  of  total  resistance  by  total  capacity  =  732  X  2.71  =  1984. 

If  this  line  be  reasonably  free  from  extraneous  noises,  it  will  allow 
of  good  business  conversation  with  Blake  transmitters.  If,  however, 
it  should  be  found  to  be  a  noisy  line,  we  should  have  to  return  it 
by  means  of  a  similar  and  parallel  line,  making  a  metallic  circuit, 
instead  of  through  the  earth. 

It  is  evident  that,  by  using  a  cable  of  lower  capacity  and  resistance, 
we  could  have  used  a  smaller  pole  wire,  or,  by  choosing  a  larger  pole 
wire,  we  could  have  used  a  cable  of  greater  resistance  and  capacity. 

It  is  also  evident  that  our  formula  enables  us  to  say  which  of 
these  alterations  will  give  us  the  desired  ease  of  conversation  at  the 
minimum  expense. 


138  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


IX. 

CONTRIBUTIONS  FROM  THE  CHEMICAL  LABORATORY  OF 
HARVARD   COLLEGE. 

ON  TRIBROMTRINITROBENZOL. 
By  C.  Loring  Jackson  and  John  F.  Wing. 

Presented  June  15, 1887. 

The  following  paper  contains  the  description  of  the  first  results  of 
a  research  on  tribromtrinitrobenzol  and  its  derivatives,  which  we  are 
obliged  to  publish  now,  as  on  account  of  the  departure  of  one  of  us 
from  Cambridge  we  cannot  go  on  with  the  work  together.  Had  it 
not  been  for  this,  we  should  have  postponed  its  publication  until  our 
experiments  on  the  reduction  of  triamidotrinitrobenzol  had  led  to 
some  definite  result.  At  present  we  are  able  to  describe  only  the 
tribromtrinitrobenzol,  triamidotrinitrobenzol,  and  trianilidotrinitroben- 
zol,  with  several  preliminary  experiments  on  other  substances,  which 
we  mention  in  order  to  reserve  the  further  study  of  this  subject  for 
one  of  us,  who  will  continue  it  in  this  laboratory. 

The  tribromtrinitrobenzol  has  never  been  described,  for  although 
Koerner*  in  1874  stated  that  he  had  obtained  it  by  the  action  of  a 
mixture  of  boiling  fuming  nitric  and  sulphuric  acids  on  tribromdinitro- 
benzol,  he  gave  no  description  of  it,  saying  that  this  must  be  postpoued 
till  a  later  paper.  Some  years  afterward  (in  1879)  Wurster  and 
Beran,f  after  many  attempts  to  prepare  the  substance  according  to 
Koerner,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  could  not  be  made  in  this 
way,  as,  even  when  Koerner's  mixture  of  acids  was  heated  with  tri- 
bromdinitrobenzol  to  220°  in  a  sealed  tube,  they  got  only  a  very 
small  amount  of  a  substance  melting  from  200°  to  220°,  the  greater 
part  of  the  product  being  unaltered  tribromdinitrobenzol.  As  this 
paper  has  remained  unanswered  by  Koerner  up  to  the  present  time, 
that  is,  for  eight  years,  we  have  assumed  that  he  has  abandoned  the. 
subject,  and  have  accordingly  taken  it  up,  our  attention  being  called 
to  it  by  the  results  obtained  in  the  study  of  the  action  of  nitric  acid  on 

*  Gazz.  Chim.,  1874,  p.  425.  t  Ber.  d.  ch.  G.,  1879,  p.  1821. 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  139 

trichlorbenzol  described  in  a  previous  paper.*  Upon  treating  sym- 
metrical tribrombenzol  with  a  mixture  of  fuming  sulphuric  acid  and  a 
nitric  acid  of  specific  gravity  1.51,  but  essentially  free  from  nitrous 
fumes,  we  found,  as  stated  in  the  paper  just  mentioned,  that  tribrom- 
trinitrobenzol  was  formed,  thus  confirming  the  results  of  Koerner,  in 
opposition  to  those  of  "VVurster  and  Beran  ;  and  in  the  same  place  we 
have  tried  to  show  that  the  most  probable  cause  of  the  failure  of  these 
latter  chemists  to  obtain  tribromtrinitrobenzol  was  the  preseuce  of  a 
large  quantity  of  nitrous  fumes  in  the  nitric  acid  used  by  them,  which 
raised  its  specific  gravity  without  increasing  its  strength. 

Tribromtrinitrobenzol,  C6Br3(N02)3. 

Symmetrical  tribrombenzol  (melting  point  119°)  was  converted 
into  tribromdinitrobenzol,  either  by  treatment  with  nitric  acid  f  of  spe- 
cific gravity  1.51,  the  mixture  being  warmed  to  secure  complete  ac- 
tion, or  by  boiling  it  with  a  mixture  of  commercial  fuming  nitric  acid 
and  common  sulphuric  acid.  To  convert  the  tribromdinitrobenzol, 
by  whichever  process  prepared,  into  tribromtrinitrobenzol,  20  grm. 
of  it  were  dissolved  by  the  aid  of  heat  in  a  mixture  of  about  500  c.c. 
of  the  nitric  acid  of  specific  gravity  1.51  mentioned  above  with  one 
third  of  its  volume  of  fuming  sulphuric  acid,  since  these  proportions 
had  been  found  by  experiment  to  give  the  best  result  with  the  least 
consumption  of  acid,  and  the  solution  boiled  gently  in  a  flask  loosely 
closed  with  a  glass  bulb.  As  a  portion  of  the  nitric  acid  volatilizes 
during  the  boiling,  a  little  •  >f  the  solid  separates,  which  can  be  dis- 
solved by  the  addition  of  m  re  nitric  acid,  but  this  precaution  is  not 
necessary  in  working  on  a  1  'ge  scale.  When  the  mixture  had  boiled 
for  four  to  five  hours,  it  w  *rf  allowed  to  cool,  and  then,  disregarding 
the  comparatively  large  am  mt  of  solid  which  had  separated,  poured 
into  snow,  and  the  precipitate  washed  thoroughly  with  water  and  after- 
ward purified,  —  first  by  extraction  with  hot  alcohol,  which  removed 
the  unaltered  tribromdinitrobenzol,  since  the  tribromtrinitrobenzol  is 
but  slightly  soluble  even  in  hot  alcohol,  —  and  then  by  crystallization 
from  chloroform,  which  separated  the  less  soluble  tribromtrinitro- 
benzol from  the  tetrabromdiuitrobenzol  X  which  was  always  formed  at 

*  These  Proceedings,  vol.  xxii.  p.  372. 

t  Prepared  directly  from  sulphuric  acid  and  nitre,  not  pushing  the  reaction 
beyond  the  formation  of  acid  potassic  sulphate.  See  our  previous  paper, 
these  Proceedings,  vol.  xxii.  p.  372. 

i  The  purification  and  identification  of  this  substance  are  described  at  the 
end  of  this  paper.     If  the  tribromtrinitrobenzol  is  to  be  used  in  making  triami- 


Calculated  for 

C6Br3(NO;!)3. 

i. 

Nitrogen 

9.33 

9.72 

Broraiue 

53.33 

•     •     • 

140  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

the  same  time.  The  crystallization  from  chloroform  was  continued 
until  the  substance  showed  the  constant  melting  point  of  285°  ;  it  was 
then  dried  at  100°,  and  its  composition  determined  by  the  following 
analyses.* 

I.    0.2310  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  19.6  c.c.  of  nitrogen  under  a 
pressure  of  765  mm.  and  a  temperature  of  21°. 
II.    0.1688  grm.  of  the  substance  gave,  according  to  the  method  of 
Carius,  0.2128  grm.  of  argentic  bromide. 

Found. 

II. 

53.64 

The  yield  was  far  from  satisfactory,  amounting  on  the  average  from 
about  15  to  20  per  cent  of  the  theoretical,  although  on  one  occasion 
we  obtained  40  per  cent.  As,  however,  the  tribromdinitrobenzol  used 
in  this  case  was  the  residue  from  the  alcoholic  extracts  derived  from 
previous  preparations,  we  think  that  a  considerable  part  of  this  large 
yield  consisted  of  tribromtrinitrobenzol  from  the  previous  processes, 
which  had  been  dissolved  by  the  hot  alcohol,  since,  although  nearly 
insoluble  in  hot  alcohol,  it  is  not  completely  so.  It  follows  from  this 
that  it  is  well  to  use  the  tribromdinitrobenzol  obtained  in  purifying 
the  crude  product  with  alcohol  as  material  for  a  new  preparation. 

Properties.  —  The  tribromtrinitrobenzol  forms  good-sized,  well- 
developed  white  crystals,  with  perhaps  a  slight  yellowish  tinge,  which 
differ  in  habit  according  to  the  solvent  from  which  they  have  been 
crystallized.  From  benzol,  hexagonal  prisms  terminated  by  hexag- 
onal pyramids  are  deposited,  which  look  very  much  like  some  forms 
of  quartz  crystal ;  from  a  mixture  of  benzol  and  alcohol,  long,  slender, 
tapering  prisms  are  obtained,  which  under  the  microscope  seem  to  be 
made  up  of  rows  of  hexagonal  pyramids  united  as  in  cap  quartz,  so 
that  the  edges  of  the  prisms  are  bluntly  serrated ;  crystallized  from 
chloroform,  the  prisms  are  not  so  slender  as  from  benzol  and  alcohol, 
and  the  twinning  just  described  is  much  better  marked.  These  crys- 
tals, furrowed  by  numerous  re-entering  angles  parallel  to  the  basal 
plane,  are  very  characteristic.  The  substance  melts  at  285°  (uncorr.), 
and  sublimes  to  a  slight  extent  when  heated  in  an  air-bath,  even  at  as 

dotrinitrobenzol,  it  is  not  necessary  to  purify  it  completely  from  tetrabromdi- 
nitrobenzol.     See  page  143. 
*  See  also  page  142. 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  141 

low  a  temperature  as  175°.  It  is  but  slightly  soluble  in  alcohol,  even 
when  boiling,  essentially  insoluble  in  it  when  cold,  soluble  in  chloro- 
form, and  more  easily  in  ether,  benzol,  acetone,  glacial  acetic  acid,  or 
carbonic  disulphide.  Chloroform,  or  a  mixture  of  benzol  and  alcohol, 
is  the  best  solvent  for  it. 

The  tribromtriuitrobenzol  is  a  decidedly  reactive  substance,  forming 
compounds  with  most  of  the  common  reagents  ;  of  these  compounds 
we  have  been  able  to  study  thoroughly  only  those  derived  from  alco- 
holic ammonia  and  aniline,  which  will  be  described  later  in  the  paper, 
but  some  preliminary  experiments  with  other  reagents  may  find  a 
place  here.  With  potassic  hydrate,  dissolved  in  alcohol,  a  yellow 
product  was  formed  which  gave  red  potassium  and  yellow  barium 
salts,  the  latter  being  only  slightly  soluble,  and  separating  in  hair-like 
crystals  from  its  hot  aqueous  solution.  It  is  probable  that  this  pro- 
duct is  the  trinitrophloroglucin  of  Benedikt  *  but  to  decide  this  point 
the  experiment  must  be  repeated  with  a  larger  quantity  of  substance. 
With  sodic  ethylate  it  gives  what  appears  to  be  a  new  compound. 
When  boiled  with  an  alcoholic  solution  of  potassic  sulphocyanate,  it 
forms  a  dark  red  powder,  which  we  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  obtain- 
ing in  crystals.  When  heated  in  a  sealed  tube  with  potassic  iodide 
and  alcohol  to  150°  for  18  hours,  a  crystalline  compound  is  formed, 
which  has  a  very  high  melting  point  and  explodes  when  heated  to  a 
somewhat  higher  temperature  ;  but  the  yield  is  so  small  that  we  have 
not  been  able  as  yet  to  obtain  enough  of  it  sufficiently  pure  for  analy- 
sis. All  these  substances  will  be  more  thoroughly  studied  in  this 
laboratory,  and  the  behavior  of  tribromtriuitrobenzol  with  other  re- 
agents, especially  sodium  malonic  ester,  will  be  investigated  also. 
When  tribromtriuitrobenzol  is  heated  to  100°  with  common  strong 
sulphuric  acid,  it  dissolves,  but  crystallizes  out  unaltered  as  the  solu- 
tion cools.  A  boiling  solution  of  argentic  nitrate  in  alcohol  has  no 
action  on  it,  and  the  same  remark  applies  to  argentic  nitrite,  as  was  to 
be  expected.  We  hope,  however,  that  the  triiodtrinitrobenzol  may 
react  with  this  latter  substance,  and  it  was  for  this  reason  that  we 
undertook  the  study  of  the  action  of  potassic  iodide  on  the  tribromtri- 
nitrobenzol. 

In  the  hope  of  obtaining  addition-products  similar  to  those  formed 
by  Hepp's  trinitrobenzol  with  hydrocarbons,  we  have  studied  the  ac- 
tion of  tribromtrinitrobenzol  on  naphthaline.  For  this  purpose  benzol 
solutions  of  the  two  substances  were  mixed  in  the  proportion  of  one 

*  Ber.  d.  ch.  G.,  xi.  1376. 


142  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

molecule  of  each,  but  we  obtained  from  the  mixed  solutions  only  crys- 
tals melting  at  285°  ;  as,  however,  the  melting-tubes  contained  a  slight 
sublimate,  and  the  habit  of  the  crystals  was  somewhat  different  from 
that  of  tribromtrinitrobenzol,  we  thought  it  possible,  although  not 
probable,  that  a  compound  might  have  been  formed,  which  decomposed 
before  it  melted,  and  have  accordingly  analyzed  the  crystals,  which, 
remembering  the  instability  of  Hepp's  substance,  were  dried  only  by 
pressing  between  filter-paper,  in  order  to  be  certain  that  the  substance 
should  not  be  decomposed. 

0.1200  grm.  of  the  substance  gave,  according  to  the  method  of  Carius, 
0.1500  grm.  of  argentic  bromide. 

Calculated  for  *•„„,,,»  Calculated  for 

C6Br3(N02)3.  *ouna'  C6Br3(N02)3C10H8. 

Bromine  53.33  53.20  41.52 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  substance  is  only  tribromtrinitro- 
benzol, and  that  it  does  not  combine  with  naphthaline  under  these  con- 
ditions. The  same  negative  result  was  obtained  when  chloroform  or 
ether  was  substituted  for  benzol  as  the  solvent.  We  may  add,  too, 
that  the  tribromtrinitrobenzol  shows  no  tendency  to  unite  with  benzol, 
so  far  as  we  could  find. 

Triamidotrinitrobenzol,  C6(NH2)3(N02)3. 

When  tribromtrinitrobenzol  is  mixed  with  cold  alcoholic  ammonia, 
an  action  sets  in  almost  immediately,  as  shown  by  the  appearance  of 
an  orange  color  in  the  solution ;  and,  if  the  substances  are  allowed  to 
stand  for  twelve  hours  in  a  corked  flask  at  ordinary  temperatures,  the 
reaction  proceeds  further,  but  is  not  complete,  as  is  shown  by  the 
presence  of  white  specks  consisting  of  unaltered  tribromtrinitrobenzol 
in  the  undissolved  solid.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  in  order  to  bring 
this  small  amount  of  unaltered  substance  into  the  reaction,  to  boil  the 
mixture  in  a  flask  with  a  return  condenser  for  about  half  an  hour, 
adding  more  alcoholic  ammonia  as  it  is  needed.  The  nearly  insol- 
uble triamidotrinitrobenzol  is  then  filtered  hot  from  the  orange  liquid, 
which  has  the  color  of  a  strong  solution  of  potassic  dichromate,*  and 
the  paler  yellow  solid  purified  by  washing,  first  with  water  to  remove 
ammonic  bromide,  and  afterward  with  alcohol  to  get  rid  of  the  organic 
impurities. 

*  Our  study  of  the  substances  contained  in  this  liquid  is  not  complete  as 
yet,  but  a  description  of  the  results  obtained  up  to  this  time  will  be  found  on 
page  145. 


OP   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES.  143 

The  triamidotrinitrobenzol  can  be  made  conveniently  also  from  the 
mixture  of  tribromtrinitrobenzol  and  tetrabromdinitrobenzol  obtained 
in  purifying  tribromtrinitrobenzol,  thus  utilizing  directly  a  secondary 
product,  which  could  be  separated  into  its  pure  constituents  only  with 
a  great  outlay  of  time  and  work.  For  this  purpose,  the  mixture  is 
treated  with  alcoholic  ammonia  in  the  manner  already  described  when 
speaking  of  the  preparation  from  pure  tribromtrinitrobenzol,  and  the 
product  freed  from  the  tetrabromdinitrobenzol,  which  is  not  attacked 
by  alcoholic  ammonia  under  these  conditions,  by  boiling  and  washing 
with  benzol  or  chloroform  after  the  washing  with  alcohol. 

The  composition  of  the  substance  after  being  dried  at  100°  was 
determined  by  the  following  analyses. 

I.    0.2352  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  on  combustion  0.2370  grm.  of 

carbonic  dioxide  and  0.0544  grm.  of  water. 
II.    0.2346   grm.   of  the  substance  gave  0.2342  grm.  of  carbonic 
dioxide.* 

III.  0.2186  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  60.4  c.c.  of  nitrogen  under 

a  pressure  of  770  mm.  and  a  temperature  of  19°. 

IV.  0.1058  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  29.6  c.c.  of  nitrogen  under  a 

pressure  of  765  mm.  and  a  temperature  of  20°. 


III.  IV. 


32.19      32.22 

Properties.  —  As  obtained  from  the  action  of  alcoholic  ammonia  on 
the  tribromtrinitrobenzol,  the  triamidotrinitrobenzol  forms  an  amor- 
phous powder  of  an  orange  or  yellow  color,  according  to  the  conditions 
under  which  it  was  prepared ;  crystallized  from  aniline  or  nitrobenzol, 
it  forms  small  rhombic  plates  of  a  pale  yellow  color.  It  decomposes 
without  melting  above  the  boding  point  of  mercury,  and  is  nearly, 
although  not  completely,  insoluble  in  water,  alcohol,  ether,  benzol, 
chloroform,  or  glacial  acetic  acid.  It  dissolves  in  andine,  or  in  nitro- 
benzol, and,  as  already  stated,  can  be  obtained  in  crystals  from  these 
solutions.  Cold  strong  sulphuric  acid  slowly  dissolves  it,  forming  a  pale 
yellow  solution,  but  on  dilution  the  unaltered  substance  is  precipitated. 
Dilute  sulphuric  acid,  or  dilute  or  strong  nitric  or  hydrochloric  acid, 
has  no  action  on  it,  and  when  the  substance  was  suspended  in  alcohol 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

C6(NH2)3(N02)3. 

i. 

II. 

Carbon 

27.90 

27.48 

27.23 

Hydrogen 

2.32 

2.57 

Nitrogen 

32.55 

.  .  . 

•     •     • 

*  The  hydrogen  of  this  analysis  was  lost. 


144  PROCEEDINGS    OP    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

and  hydrochloric  acid  gas  passed  into  the  liquid  no  change  was  ob- 
served. It  is  therefore  either  incapable  of  forming  salts,  or  can  form 
them  only  under  unusual  conditions.  When  the  solution  in  strong 
sulphuric  acid  was  heated  it  became  charred. 

We  have  made  many  attempts  to  convert  the  triamidotrinitrobenzol 
into  an  acet-compound,  but  have  found  that  it  was  not  acted  on  by 
glacial  acetic  acid,  acetylchloride,  or  acetic  anhydride,  even  when 
sealed  with  the  substance,  and  heated  to  150° ;  we  infer,  therefore,  that 
the  radical  acetyl  cannot  be  introduced  directly  into  the  molecule. 

The  reduction  of  triamidotrinitrobenzol  naturally  has  engaged  our 
attention,  as  by  this  means  it  might  be  possible  to  obtain  hexamido- 
benzol.     Owing  to  want  of  material,  however,  our  experiments  on  this 
subject  have  not  been  brought  to  a  conclusion,  but  we  think  it  best  to 
describe  them  briefly  now,  as  we  shall  have  no  other  opportunity  to 
put  them  in  print,  if  the  future  work  of  one  of  us  on  this  subject 
should  not  lead  to  the  desired  result ;  and  there  seems  to  be  only  too 
much  reason  to  fear  that  this  will  be  the  case,  especially  since  Nietzki 
and  Hagenbach*  have  found  that  ammonia  is  eliminated  in  reductions 
which  should   lead   to   pentamidobenzol.      Up  to  this   time  we  have 
tried  only  three  reducing  agents,  tin  and  hydrochloric  acid,  amnionic 
sulphydrate  in  alcoholic  solution,  and  zinc  dust  and  acetic  acid.     The 
first  of  these,  tin  and  hydrochloric  acid,  removed  ammonia  from  the 
molecule,  as  was  proved  by  the  formation  of  pink  salt  and  the  precip- 
itation of  amnionic  chlorplatinate  on  adding  chlorplatinic  acid,  the 
latter  being  analyzed  for  still  greater  certainty.     This  was  the  result 
whether  tin  and  hydrochloric  acid  or  stannous  chloride  and   hydro- 
chloric acid  were  used.     The  alcoholic  solution  of  amnionic  sulphy- 
drate gave  a  more  promising  result ;  but,  as  it  was  evident  that  the 
product  was  decomposed  at  a  temperature  a  little  above  that  at  which 
it  was  formed,  we  turned  our  attention  to  the  third  method,  which 
seemed  on  the  whole  the  most  promising,  since  zinc  dust  and  80  per 
cent  acetic  acid  acting  in  an  atmosphere  of  carbonic  dioxide  seem  to 
reduce  the  triamidotrinitrobenzol  completely ;  at  any  rate,  the  yellow 
color  disappears,  and  the  whole  goes  into  solution.    This  solution,  after 
being  freed  from  zinc  with  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  gave  no  precipitate 
with  sodic  hydrate,  nor  did  ether  extract  anything  from  the  alkaline 
solution.     It  was  blackened  by  exposure  to  the  air  even  more  readily 
than  a  solution  of  a  salt  of  diamidobenzol,  and  the  residue  from  it  was 
decomposed  easily  by  heat ;  chlorplatinic  acid  gave  no  precipitate  with 

*  Ber.  d.  ch.  G.,  1887,  p.  881.     See  also  p.  2114. 


OP   ARTS    AND   SCIENCES.  145 

it,  but  chlorauric  acid  threw  down  an  uninviting  precipitate,  which 
we  thought  was  in  part  at  least  a  product  of  oxidation.  If  the  sub- 
stance formed  was  really  hexamidobenzol,  it  is  evident  that  its  isola- 
tion in  a  form  fit  for  analysis  will  be  a  matter  of  great  difficulty  owing 
to  its  extreme  instability.  The  study  of  this  subject  will  be  continued 
,in  this  laboratory,  however,  as  soon  as  a  sufficient  quantity  of  material 
can  be  prepared,  and  the  work  will  be  extended  also  to  the  action  of 
other  reducing  agents,  including  those  which  form  azo-compounds. 

As  yet  we  have  been  unable  to  finish  the  study  of  the  substances 
contained  in  the  orange-red  filtrate  formed  in  the  preparation  of  the 
triamidotrinitrobenzol,  because  in  spite  of  its  marked  color  the  amount 
of  solid  dissolved  in  it  is  far  from  large.  It  seems,  however,  to  con- 
tain at  least  two  compounds,  one  crystallizing  in  red  needles,  frequently 
grouped  in  round  masses  like  chestnut  burs,  the  other  a  yellow  sub- 
stance forming  flat  crystals ;  but  the  separation  of  these  two  bodies  is 
a  matter  of  such  great  difficulty  that  we  have  not  yet  succeeded  in 
obtaining  either  of  them  m  a  state  of  purity,  nor  are  we  certain  that 
these  are  the  only  secondary  products  of  the  reaction. 

Trianilidotrinitrobenzol,  C6(NHC6H5)3(N02)8. 

This  substance  was  prepared  by  allowing  a  mixture  of  tribromtrini- 
trobenzol  and  aniline,  in  the  proportion  of  one  molecule  of  the  former 
to  six  of  the  base,  to  stand  at  ordinary  temperatures,  when  the  re- 
action runs  slowly,  but  is  complete  after  the  mixture  has  stood  for  a 
day  or  two.  The  product  was  purified  by  washing  with  water,  to 
which  a  little  hydrochloric  acid  was  added  to  remove  any  slight  excess 
of  free  aniline,  and  crystallizing  the  residue  from  a  mixture  of  alcohol 
and  chloroform.  It  was  dried  at.  100°,  and  analyzed  with  the  following 
results. 

I.    0.1468  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  on  combustion  0.3176  grm. 

of  carbonic  dioxide  and  0.0516  grm.  of  water. 
II.    0.1830  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  28.1  c.c.  of  nitrogen  at  25° 
temperature  and  755  mm.  pressure. 

Found. 

II. 


Calculated  for 
C0(NHCCH5)3(NO.,)3. 

i. 

Carbon 

59.26 

58.99 

Hydrogen 

3.71 

3.90 

Nitrogen 

17.28 

.  .  . 

17.02 

If  an  excess  of  aniline   is  used  in  the  preparation,  and  the  mixture 
heated,  a  coloring  matter  is  formed  looking  like  rosaniline  ;  but  the 
vol.  xxni.  (n.  s.  xv.)  10 


146  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

purification  of  this  substance  was  attended  with  such  great  difficulties 
that  we  have  abandoned  for  the  present  the  further  study  of  this  re- 
action, in  which  the  nitro  groups  undoubtedly  play  a  part. 

Properties.  —  The  trianilidotrinitrobenzol  forms  an  orange  powder, 
crystallizing  from  alcohol  or  chloroform  in  fine  red  needles,  which 
melt  at  238°.  It  is  essentially  insoluble  in  water,  soluble  with  diffi- 
culty in  alcohol,  but  easily  in  chloroform,  soluble  in  ether,  benzol, 
glacial  acetic  acid,  or  acetone.  The  best  solvent  for  it  is  a  mixture  of 
alcohol  and  chloroform.  Hydrochloric  acid  has  no  action  on  it,  and 
in  general  it  shows  no  more  tendency  to  form  salts  than  the  corre- 
sponding amido  compound.  Strong  nitric  acid  produces  no  change  of 
color  when  added  to  it. 

Tetrabromdinitrobenzol,  C6Br4(NOo)2- 

As  has  been  already  stated,  during  the  preparation  of  the  tribrom- 
trinitrobenzol  from  tribromdinitrobenzol  by  the  action  of  nitric  acid 
and  fuming  sulphuric  acid  there  was  formed  invariably  another  sub- 
stance which  melted  in  the  crude  state  at  about  230°,  and  was  left 
behind  with  the  tribromtrinitrobenzol  after  the  tribromdinitrobenzol 
was  removed  with  alcohol,  and  was  separated  partially  from  it  by 
crystallizing  the  residue  from  chloroform,  in  which  the  trinitro  com- 
pound is  less  soluble  than  the  other  substance.  In  this  way  it  is 
easy  to  get  the  trinitro  compound  in  a  state  of  purity ;  but  to  purify 
completely  the  other  substance  it  is  necessary  to  submit  the  residue 
from  the  evaporation  of  the  chloroform  mother-liquors  to  systematic 
fractional  crystallization  from  a  mixture  of  alcohol  and  benzol,  which 
removes  a  small  quantity  of  tribromtrinitrobenzol.  These  crystalliza- 
tions lowered  the  melting  point  instead  of  raising  it,  as  is  usual,  and 
after  it  had  been  brought  down  from  about  230°  to  224°  it  remained 
constant,  and  then  the  substance,  dried  at  100°,  was  analyzed  with  the 
following  results. 

I.   0.3526  grm.  of  the  substance  gave  18.7  c.c.  of  nitrogen  at  24° 
temperature  and  764  mm.  pressure. 
II.   0.1690  grm.   of  the   substance  gave,  by  the  method  of  Carius, 
0.2606  grm.  of  argentic  bromide. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

C0Br4(N02)2. 

i. 

II 

Nitrogen 

5.78 

5.97 

Bromine 

66.11 

... 

65.1 

OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  147 

These  analyses  and  the  melting  point  224°  prove  that  the  substance 
is  the  tetrabromdinitrobenzol  melting  point  227-228°,  discovered  by 
Von  Richter.* 

The  following  experiments  were  tried  to  throw  light  upon  the 
manner  in  which  the  tetrabromdinitrobenzol  was  formed.  In  the 
first  place,  to  prove  that  it  was  not  formed  from  an  impurity  (tetrabrom- 
henzol)  in  our  tribrombenzol,  we  have  prepared  it  from  an  analyzed 
sample  of  tribromdinitrobenzol.  This  experiment  was  hardly  neces- 
sary, as  the  tribrombenzol  and  tribromdinitrobenzol  used  by  us  in 
working  on  the  large  scale  showed  the  correct  melting  points  within 
two  degrees  ;  but  we  felt  that  absolute  certainty  on  this  point  was  im- 
portant, and  accordingly  prepared  some  perfectly  pure  tribromdinitro- 
benzol, melting  point  190°  (Von  Richterf  gives  191°,  Koerner}:  192°), 
which  gave  on  analysis  the  following  result. 

0.1658  grm.  of  the  substance  gave,  according  to  the  method  of  Carius, 
0.2314  grm.  of  argentic  bromide. 

Calculated  for  _        , 

C0Br3(NO,),H.  bound. 

Bromine  59.26  59.39 

This  was  treated  with  a  mixture  of  nitric  acid  and  fuming  sulphu- 
ric acid,  precisely  as  in  the  preparation  of  tribromtrinitrobenzol,  and 
yielded  a  product  which,  after  removing  the  unattacked  tribromdinitro- 
benzol, consisted  of  tribromtrinitrobenzol  and  tetrabromdinitrobenzol 
in  about  equal  parts,  thus  proving  that  the  tetrabromdinitrobenzol  is 
not  derived  from  an  impurity,  but  is  formed  during  the  process. 

A  second  experiment  had  for  its  object  to  determine  whether  the 
conversion  of  the  tribromdinitrobenzol  into  tetrabromdinitrobenzol 
was  due  to  the  fuming  sulphuric  acid,  which  might  well  be  the  case, 
since  Bassmann  §  has  observed  that  symmetrical  tribrombenzol  is  con- 
verted in  part  into  pentabrombenzol,  when  heated  with  fuming  sul- 
phuric acid  to  100°  from  a  week  to  a  fortnight.  We  accordingly 
heated  another  quantity  of  the  pure  tribromdinitrobenzol  with  an 
excess  of  fuming  sulphuric  acid  in  a  sealed  tube  to  100°  for  twelve 
hours,  but  no  tetrabromdinitrobenzol  was  formed,  and,  as  the  tempera- 
ture of  our  mixture  during  the  manufacture  of  the  tribromtrinitroben- 
zol could  have  been  little,  if  at  all,  above  100°,  and  that  process  was 
carried  on  for  only  five  hours,  we  are  inclined  to  ascribe  the  formation 
of  the  tetrabrom  compound  to  the  nitric  rather  than  the  sulphuric  acid. 

*  Ber.  d.  ch.  G.,  1875,  p.  1427.  }  Gazz.  China.,  1874,  p  425. 

t  Ber.  d.  ch.  G.,  1875,  p.  1426.  §  Ann.  Chem.,  cxci.  208. 


148  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

In  a  third  experiment  the  mixture  of  tribromdinitro benzol  with 
nitric  and  fuming  sulphuric  acids  was  boiled  for  only  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  instead  of  for  the  usual  five  hours,  and  the  proportion  of  tetra- 
bromdinitrobenzol  formed  was  comparatively  small,  it  would  seem, 
therefore,  that  it  is  formed  chiefly  in  the  later  part  of  the  boiling;  but 
it  is  not  advantageous  in  preparing  tribromtriuitrobenzol  to  diminish 
the  length  of  the  hoiling,  as  the  superior  purity  of  the  product  does 
not  compensate  for  the  much  smaller  yield.  We  may  add,  that 
another  experiment  showed  that  it  was  impossible  to  convert  tribrom- 
triuitrobenzol into  tetrabromdinitrobenzol  by  boiling  it  with  the  mix- 
ture of  nitric  acid  and  fuming  sulphuric  acid. 

Von  Richter,  the  discoverer  of  tetrabromdinitrobenzol,  gave  the 
melting  point  227-228°,  whereas  our  substance  showed  a  constant 
melting  point  of  224°.  We  are  of  the  opinion,  however,  that  Von 
Richter's  melting  point  is  more  correct  than  ours,  as  it  might  well  be 
that  a  small  quantity  of  tribromtrinitrobenzol,  sufficient  to  lower  the 
melting-point  4°,  could  not  be  removed  by  crystallization,  and  in  fact 
our  analysis  seems  to  indicate  the  presence  of  such  an  impurity  ;  but 
as  our  object  was  to  identify  the  substance  rather  than  study  its  prop- 
erties, we  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  sacrifice  the  large  amount  of 
time  and  labor  which  would  undoubtedly  have  been  necessary  to 
settle  this  point  thoroughly.  Von  Richter  also  states  that  it  is  soluble 
in  alcohol  or  benzol,  and  Bodewig*  has  published  a  thorough  descrip- 
tion of  its  crystalline  form.  The  following  properties,  which  we  have 
had  occasion  to  study,  have  not  been  published  heretofore,  so  far  as  we 
can  find.  It  begins  to  sublime  at  about  175°,  and  is  soluble  in  me- 
thylalcohol,  ether,  acetone,  glacial  acetic  acid,  or  carbonic  disulphide ; 
the  best  solvent  for  it  is  a  mixture  of  alcohol  and  benzol,  in  the 
former  of  which  it  is  but  sparingly  soluble.  It  dissolves  in  cold  sul- 
phuric acid,  but  is  precipitated  unchanged  on  dilution.  When  heated 
over  a  free  flame  with  sulphuric  acid,  it  is  destroyed.  The  bromine 
in  it  is  much  more  firmly  attached  to  the  molecule  than  in  the  tri- 
bromtrinitrobenzol, as  it  is  not  removed  when  the  substance  is  boiled 
with  alcoholic  ammonia  in  open  vessels.  It  is  also  very  hard  to  effect 
its  complete  decomposition  in  its  analysis  according  to  Carius. 

Finally,  we  may  remark  that  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  substanre 
melting  above  200°  obtained  by  Wurster  and  Beran  by  heating  tri- 
bromdinitrobenzol  to  220°  in  a  sealed  tube  with  a  mixture  of  fuming 
nitric  and  sulphuric  acids  was  the  tetrabromdinitrobenzol. 

*  Zeitschr.  Kryst.,  iii.  398. 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  149 


X. 

CONTRIBUTIONS   FROM  THE   CHEMICAL  LABORATORY   OF 
HARVARD   COLLEGE.— J.  P.  Cooke,  Director. 

THE  RELATIVE  VALUES  OF  THE  ATOMIC  WEIGHTS 
OF  HYDROGEN  AND  OXYGEN. 

Br  Josiah  Parsons  Cooke 

AND 

Theodore  William  Richards. 

Presented  June  15,  1887. 

Introduction. 

Since  the  application  by  Dalton  of  the  atomic  theory  to  explain  the 
definiteness  of  the  combining  proportions  of  the  elementary  substances 
of  chemistry,  these  proportions  have  been  generally  regarded  as  the 
ratios  of  the  weights  of  the  atoms,  and  the  values  assigned  to  each 
element  have  been  generally  called  atomic  weights. 

The  conception  was  early  suggested  and  advocated  by  Dr.  Prout, 
an  eminent  physician  of  London  during  the  first  half  of  this  century, 
that  the  elementary  atoms  were  all  aggregates  of  the  atom  of  hydro- 
gen, the  lightest  atom  known.  If  this  were  true,  it  would  of  course 
follow  that  the  atomic  weights  of  the  elements  would  all  be  multiples 
of  the  atomic  weight  of  hydrogen ;  so  that,  if  the  weight  of  the  atom 
of  hydrogen  were  selected  as  the  unit  of  the  system,  all  other  atomic 
weights  must  he  multiples  of  this  unit,  and  therefore  whole  numbers. 

The  facts  known  at  the  time  (1815)  were  not  inconsistent  with  this 
view ;  but  as  the  methods  of  chemical  analysis  were  improved,  and  the 
combining  proportions  determined  with  greater  accuracy,  marked  dis- 
crepancies from  Prout's  hypothesis  appeared.  Still,  so  great  was  the 
hold  which  the  conception  had  taken  upon  chemical  students,  that  for 
a  long  time  the  nearest  whole  numbers  to  the  combining  proportions 
observed  were  accredited  as  the  true  value  of  the  atomic  weights,  rather 
than  the  actual  mean  of  the  experimental  results  ;  and  this  practice  is 
still  followed  in  many  standard  publications,  notably  the  "  Jahresbericht 


150  PROCEEDINGS   OP    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

iiber  die  Fortscbritte  der  Chemie."  In  many  cases  the  observed 
values  were  so  near  whole  numbers  that  no  important  error  in  the  cal- 
culation of  analyses  arose  from  this  practice,  the  differences  neglected 
being  no  greater  than  the  uncertainties  of  analytical  method,  and  this 
was  especially  true  with  regard  to  the  larger  atomic  weights. 

One  exception  to  the  theory,  however,  was  so  marked  that  it  could 
not  be  overlooked,  namely,  the  atomic  weight  of  chlorine,  which  was 
capable  of  being  determined  with  great  accuracy ;  and  all  the  deter- 
minations uniformly  gave  a  result  which  was  closely  35.5.  This  and 
a  few  similar  cases  suggested  the  idea,  that,  if  the  atomic  weights  were 
not  even  multiples  of  the  received  hydrogen  atom,  they  might  be  mul- 
tiples of  the  half  or  quarter  hydrogen  atom,  which  would  simply  amount 
to  taking  as  the  ultimate  atom  of  material  things  a  still  smaller  unit. 

The  well-known  chemist,  Dumas  of  Paris,  was  led  by  this  view  to 
undertake  a  redetermination  of  a  large  number  of  atomic  weights,  and 
many  of  the  results  then  obtained  are  still  accepted  as  authoritative.* 
As  was  to  be  expected,  Dumas  found  a  much  closer  agreement  with 
this  modified  theory  than  with  the  original  hypothesis  of  Prout ;  but 
obviously  such  evidence  could  have  but  little  bearing  on  the  general 
theory  that  the  atoms  were  all  aggregates  of  some  common  unit,  for 
by  takiug  that  unit  small  enough,  —  even  no  smaller  than  the  one 
hundredth  of  the  received  hydrogen  atom,  —  all  the  atomic  weights, 
even  those  most  accurately  determined,  would  be  expressed  by  whole 
numbers  within  the  limits  of  probable  error. 

Soon  after,  Stas  of  Brussels,  a  former  assistant  of  Dumas,  endeav- 
ored to  set  the  question  of  Prout's  theory  at  rest  by  an  investigation 
which  will  be  ever  memorable  for  its  extreme  accuracy. f  He  selected 
for  his  investigation  those  elements  whose  combining  proportions  were 
capable  of  being  determined  with  the  greatest  accuracy,  and,  working 
on  large  quantities  of  material,  with  every  refinement  which  a  full 
knowledge  of  analytical  methods  could  suggest,  he  obtained  results 
which  it  seemed  impossible  to  reconcile  with  the  theory  in  any  way. 
This  investigation,  published  in  1865,  seemed  at  first  to  disprove  the 
theory  altogether. 

Nevertheless,  when  Stas's  results  came  to  be  collated,  and  as  other 
determinations  of  similar  accuracy  came  to  be  published,  the  fact  ap- 
peared that  a  large  number  of  the  most  accurately  determined  atomic 


*  Annates  rle  Chimie  et  de  Physique,  3d  ser.,  lv.  129  (1859). 
t  Me'moires   de  l'Acade'mie  Royale  de   Belgique,  xxxv.      Also  Ann.  Ch. 
Pharni.,  Suppl.,  iv.  168. 


OP  ARTS    AND   SCIENCES. 


151 


weights  stood  to  each  other  in  the  relation  of  whole  numbers  within 
the  limits  of  accuracy  of  the  most  refined  experimental  work.  The 
number  of  these  cases  was  so  large  that  it  seemed  highly  improbable 
that  the  coincidences  should  be  the  result  of  chance. 

This  idea  was  prominently  set  forth  by  Professor  Mallet  of  the 
University  of  Virginia,  in  his  admirable  paper  on  the  Atomic  Weight  of 
Aluminum,*  which  was  a  striking  illustration  in  point;  and  the  same 
feature  was  also  made  prominent  by  Professor  F.  W.  Clarke  of 
Washington,  after  a  careful  review  of  all  the  determinations  of  atomic 
weights.! 

The  coincidences  appear  more  striking  if  the  values  of  the  weights 
referred  to  are  given  in  values  of  the  oxygen  atom  assumed  to  be  16, 
as  has  been  done  by  Professor  George  F.  Becker  in  his  digest  of 
atomic  weight  determinations.^  The  following  table  from  the  writer's 
work  on  Chemical  Philosophy  will  make  clear  the  point  in  question. 

ATOMIC   WEIGHTS 

MOST  ACCURATELY  DETERMINED. 


Hydrogen 1.002 

Lithium 7.01 

Carbon 12.00 

Nitrogen 14.04 

Oxygen 16.00 

Aluminum 27.02 

Sodium 23.05 

Magnesium 24.00 

Phosphorus 31 05 

Sulphur 32.07 


Chlorine    . 
Potassium 
Calcium     . 
Bromine    . 


35.46 

39.14 

40.00 

79.94 

Silver 107.93 

Antimony 119.92 

Iodine 126.85 

Barium      .........  137.14 

Thallium 204.11 

Lead 20G.91 


This  table  includes  all  the  atomic  weights  which  up  to  1882  could 
be  regarded  as  known  within  one  thousandth  of  their  value,  and  with 
one  or  two  notable  exceptions  there  is  no  instance  iu  which  the  value 
differs  from  a  whole  number  by  a  quantity  greater  than  the  possible 
error,  thougli  not  always  the  "  probable  error,"  of  the  processes  em- 
ployed in  their  determination. 

Were  these  numbers  wholly  independent  of  each  other  and  distrib- 
uted by  no  law,  we  should  expect  to  find  every  possible  intermediate 
value,  and  the  fact  that  they  so  nearly  approach  whole  numbers  can- 


*  Phil.  Trans.,  1880,  p.  1003. 

t  Smithson.  Misc.  Coll.;  Constants  of  Nature,  Part  V.  p.  270. 

i  Smithson.  Misc.  Coll. ;  Constants  of  Nature,  Part  IV. 


152  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

not  fail  to  produce  on  the  mind  the  impression  that  there  is  some  influ- 
ence which  tends  to  bring  about  this  result. 

It  may  be  that  the  discrepancies  are  due  to  unknown  constant  errors, 
which  every  experimentalist  knows  are  greatly  to  be  feared.  Or  it 
may  be  that  there  is  in  nature  a  tendency  to  whole  multiples  ;  and  this 
last  view,  if  not  compatible  with  our  present  conception  of  the  atomic 
theory,  may  hereafter  appear  as  one  of  the  phases  of  a  broader 
philosophy. 

The  force  of  evidence  which  such  a  distribution  of  values  as  the 
above  table  presents  was  brought  home  to  the  writer  in  his  investiga- 
tion of  the  atomic  weight  of  antimony.*  After  eliminating  various 
causes  of  error,  he  was  enabled  to  determine  with  great  accuracy  the 
atomic  weights  of  antimony,  silver,  and  bromine,  in  one  and  the  same 
series  of  experiments ;  and  it  appeared  that  this  ratio  was 

120.00:108.00:80.00, 

with  a  probable  error  of  less  than  one  in  the  last  decimal  place.  Here 
then  is  a  ratio  of  whole  numbers  within  the  one  hundredth  of  a  single 
unit.  Since  the  ratio  of  the  atomic  weights  of  silver  and  oxygen  have 
been  determined  with  great  accuracy,  we  can  extend  the  above  propor- 
tion to  a  fourth  term,  the  atomic  weight  of  oxygen,  which  appears  also 
as  a  whole  number,  perhaps  with  a  somewhat  larger  probable  error. 
Still,  we  have  not  reached  the  unit  of  the  system,  and  when  we  attempt 
to  extend  the  ratio  to  the  atomic  weight  of  hydrogen,  we  find  that  the 
most  probable  value  from  all  experiments  hitherto  made  gives  the  ratio 
not  of  16  to  1,  but  of  16  to  1.0025. 

If  now  we  wished  to  refer  to  the  hydrogen  unit  the  atomic  weights 
of  antimony,  silver,  bromine,  and  oxygen  whose  ratios  of  whole  num- 
bers had  been  determined  as  above,  it  was  only  necessary  to  divide  all 
the  terms  of  the  above  proportion  by  1.0G31,  when  we  obtain  the  series 
of  values  given  below  the  others,  and  all  semblance  to  the  hypothesis 
of  Prout  disappears,  although  of  course  the  second  series  of  numbers 
bear  the  same  ratios  to  each  other  as  the  first :  — 


Antimony. 

Silver. 

Bromine. 

Oxygen. 

Hydrogen, 

120.00 

108.00 

80.00 

16.01 

1.0031 

119.60 

107.66 

79.75 

15.96 

1.00 

The  numbers  in  the  lower  of  the  two  proportions  appear  as  uncom- 
mensurable  as  Stas  maintained  that  they  were,  and  the  same  is  true 


*  Additional  Experiments  on  the  Atomic  Weight  of  Antimony,  Am.  Acad. 
Proa,  vol.  xvii.  p.  13,  by  Josiah  Parsons  Cooke. 


OP   ARTS    AND   SCIENCES.  153 

of  most  of  the  atomic  weights,  when  given,  as  is  usual  in  recent  text- 
books, on  the  basis  of  the  hydrogen  unit. 

When  as  the  result  of  his  investigation  on  the  atomic  weight  of  anti- 
mony there  was  presented  to  the  writer  the  ratios  of  whole  numbers 
as  shown  in  the  first  of  the  above  proportions,  with  the  single  excep- 
tion of  the  atomic  weight  of  hydrogen,  the  question  was  at  once  sug- 
gested :  Is  the  ratio  of  the  atomic  weights  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen  in 
fact  that  of  16  :  1.0025,  as  the  general  average  of  all  trustworthy 
determinations  hitherto  made  seems  to  indicate,  or  was  there  some 
constant  error  lurking  in  these  results  which  caused  the  very  slight 
variation  from  16  to  1  required  by  the  theory?  In  looking  at  the 
proportion  thus  displayed,  it  seemed  as  if  the  variation  from  the  theory 
must  be  apparent,  and  he  determined  to  ferret  out  the  hidden  error  if 
possible.  This  investigation  was  undertaken  in  the  autumn  of  1883, 
but  owing  to  the  condition  of  the  writer's  sight  the  work  has  been 
greatly  delayed. 

No  one  can  study  the  record  of  the  investigations  by  which  the  ratio 
of  the  weights  of  the  oxygen  and  hydrogen  atoms  have  been  deter- 
mined, without  receiving  the  impression  that  they  are  by  no  means 
decisive  in  regard  to  the  theory  we  are  discussing,  and  it  is  also  equally 
evident  that  this  ratio,  if  it  could  be  fixed  beyond  doubt,  would  be  a 
crucial  test  of  the  theory. 

Previous  Work. 

The  methods  by  which  the  atomic  weights  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen 
have  been  determined  may  be  divided  into  two  classes  ;  first,  the  direct 
method  of  determining  the  ratio  in  which  the  proportions  of  oxygen 
and  hydrogen  uniting  to  form  water  were  actually  weighed  ;  secondly, 
the  confirmatory  method,  to  whose  results  small  weight  could  be  given 
independent  of  the  first. 

Among  confirmatory  methods  we  must  unquestionably  class  the 
classical  determinations  by  Regnault  of  the  density  of  oxygen  and 
hydrogen  gases  under  normal  conditions  at  Paris  ;  that  is,  iu  so  far  as 
these  determinations  bear  on  the  question  of  the  ratio  of  the  atomic 
weights. 

According  to  the  molecular  theory  the  ratio  of  the  densities  of  oxy- 
gen and  hydrogen  gases  could  only  be  the  ratio  of  their  molecular  or 
of  their  atomic  weights  when  both  materials  were  in  the  condition  of 
perfect  gases,  of  which  condition  the  test  would  be  an  exact  conformity 
to  Mariotte's  law.  Now,  as  Regnault  himself  elegantly  demonstrated, 
oxygen  and  hydrogen  gases  at  the  standard  conditions  of  temperature 


154  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

and  pressure  not  only  do  not  exactly  obey  Mariotte's  law,  but  the 
deviations  from  the  law  in  these  two  cases  are  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tions, oxygen  gas  being  condensed  by  increasing  pressure  more,  and 
hydrogen  gas  less,  than  the  law  requires.  Hence  theory  would  not 
lead  us  to  expect  that  the  ratio  of  the  densities  of  these  gases  at  the 
standard  conditions  would  be  the  exact  ratio  of  their  atomic  weights. 
But  obviously  it  may  be  that  this  inference  from  the  molecular  theory 
is  not  legitimate,  or  it  may  be  that  the  effect  of  the  imperfect  aeri- 
form condition  would  not  perceptibly  influence  the  apparent  atomic 
ratio  ;  and  hence  the  confirmation  afforded  by  Regnault's  results  is  of 
value. 

In  the  same  category  we  must  class  also  the  determination  of  the 
atomic  weight  of  oxygen  made  by  Thomsen  of  Copenhagen,  wbo 
weighed  the  amount  of  water  obtained  by  burning  a  measured  volume 
of  hydrogen  gas.  Here  the.  reduction  of  the  volume  to  weight  involved 
a  knowledge  of  values  and  conditions  which  could  not  be  known  with 
the  greatest  accuracy,  and  unfortunately  the  details  of  the  experiments 
have  not  been  published. 

Again,  we  should  class  simply  as  confirmatory  results  deduced  in- 
directly, and  involving  the  values  of  other  atomic  weights,  however 
accurately  these  subsidiary  values  may  be  supposed  to  be  known  ; 
such,  for  example,  as  Stas's  determination  of  the  amount  of  chlorine 
in  amnionic  chloride. 

Turning  now  to  the  actual  direct  determinations  of  the  combining 
proportions  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen,  there  are  only  two  which  are  of 
any  present  value.  Of  these  by  far  the  most  important  is  the  classical 
investigation  of  Dumas,  "  Researches  on  the  Composition  of  Water."  * 
This  is  one  of  the  most  memorable  investigations  in  the  history  of 
chemistry,  and  its  general  principles  are  known  to  every  student  of  the 
science.  An  indefinite  amount  of  hydrogen  was  burnt  by  means  of 
cupric  oxide  ;  the  amount  of  oxygen  consumed  was  determined  by 
the  loss  of  weight  of  the  combustion  tube,  and  the  amount  of  water 
formed  was  collected  and  weighed  directly.  The  experiments  were  on 
a  very  large  scale,  the  amount  of  water  produced  varying  from  15  to 
70  grams.  The  greatest  care  was  taken  to  insure  the  purity  of  the 
materials  used,  every  known  experimental  means  was  employed  to 
secure  accuracy,  and  all  necessary  corrections  were  applied  to  the 
results.  Estimated  on  the  system  at  present  in  use,  the  value  of  the 
atomic  weight  of  oxygen  obtained  by  Dumas  as  the  mean  of  nineteen 

*  Ann.  de  Chim.  et  de  Physique,  3d  ser.,  viii.  189  (1842). 


OF    ARTS   AND    SCIENCES.  155 

determinations  was  15.9G07,  with  a  probable  error  of  ±0.0070,  the 
highest  value  being  16.024,  and  the  lowest  15.892. 

The  investigation  of  Erdmann  and  Marchand*  was  far  less  ex- 
tended, and  some  of  the  precautions  taken  by  Dumas  were  neglected 
because  deemed  unnecessary.  No  pains  seem  to  have  been  taken  to 
obtain  pure  cupric  oxide,  and  the  material  used  in  several  of  the  deter- 
minations was  described  as  "  kaufliche  Kupfergliihspan,"  while  that 
used  in  the  others  was  obtained  by  igniting  cupric  nitrate ;  and  no 
proof  is  adduced  in  either  case  of  the  purity  of  the  material  employed. 

The  results  are  divided  into  two  groups,  and  in  the  experiments  of 
the  second  group  the  air  was  exhausted  from  the  combustion  tube 
before  weighing ;  but  it  appears  from  the  paper  that  the  marked  dif- 
ference between  the  two  series  of  experiments  depended  rather  on  the 
character  of  the  cupric  oxide,  and  on  varying  conditions  used,  than  on 
this  circumstance.  The  first  series  of  four  results,  when  averaged, 
gave  the  value  15.937,  with  a  probable  error  of  ±0.0138,  while  the 
mean  of  the  second  series  was  16.009,  with  a  probable  error  of  ±  0.0030. 
The  study  of  the  paper,  however,  does  not  confirm  the  expectation 
that  the  results  of  the  second  series  are  more  trustworthy ;  for  the 
closer  agreement  and  smaller  probable  error  appear  to  be  the  result  of 
the  identity  of  conditions,  which  was  maintained  in  this  series,  but  not 
in  the  first.  Judging  from  the  paper,  we  should  be  inclined  to  place 
most  reliance  on  the  first  series,  in  which  the  conditions  of  the  experi- 
ments were  varied,  rather  than  on  the  second,  which  seems  obviously 
to  be  influenced  by  some  constant  error. 

The  results,  then,  thus  far  obtained,  are  as  follows:  — 

Direct  Determinations. 

Dumas  (nineteen  determinations)  15.9607  ±  0.0070 

Erdmann  and  Marchand  (first  four)  15.9369  ±  0.0138 

"  "  "        (second  four)        16.0095  ±  0.0030 

Confirmatory  Determinations. 

Dumas  and  Boussingaltf  (gas  densities)       15.954  ±  0.031 
Regnault  %  (gas  densities)  15.961  ±  0.0044 

Thomsen§  (not  fully  described)  15.960 

*  Journ.  f.  Prakt.  Chem.,  1842,  vol.  xxvi.  p.  461. 
t  Compt.  Rend.,  xii.  1005 ;  also  Constants  of  Nature,  Part  V.  p.  6. 
\  Compt.  Rend.,  xx.  975;  also  Constants  of  Nature,  Part  V.  p.  6. 
§  Berichte  der  deutsch.  Chem.  Gesell.,  1870,  p.  928;  also  Constants  of  Nature, 
Part  V.  p.  8. 


156  PEOCEEDINGS   OF  TPIE    AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

The  one  process  by  which  the  relative  combining  proportions  of 
oxygen  and  hydrogen  have  been  hitherto  directly  determined  is  open  to 
serious  criticism.  In  the  first  place,  the  circumstance  that  the  weight 
of  the  hydrogen  is  eight  times  smaller  than  that  of  the  oxygen,  and 
that  this  weight  has  only  been  estimated  by  difference,  is  exceedingly 
unfavorable  to  the  accuracy  of  the  process.  It  can  easily  be  seen, 
that,  in  order  to  establish  a  ratio  like  1  to  8,  the  highest  accuracy  de- 
mands that  each  term  of  the  proportion  should  be  known  to  an  equal 
degree  of  exactness.  Thus  if  in  a  given  experiment  we  have  8  grams 
of  oxygen  uniting  with  1  gram  of  hydrogen,  it  is  of  no  avail  to  weigh 
the  oxygen  to  the  tenth  of  a  milligram,  unless  we  can  weigh  the  hy- 
drogen to  the  same  proportionate  degree  of  accuracy.  For  an  error 
of  eight  tenths  of  a  milligram  in  the  weight  of  the  oxygen,  or  an  error 
of  nine  tenths  of  a  milligram  in  the  weight  of  the  water,  will  have  no 
more  influence  on  the  ratio  we  are  seeking  than  an  error  of  one  tenth 
of  a  milligram  in  the  weight  of  the  hydrogen.  Now,  in  the  process 
we  are  discussing  the  weight  of  the  water  can  be  determined  to  within 
a  few  tenths  of  a  milligram ;  that  is,  with  all  the  accuracy  with 
which  our  problem  requires  that  the  larger  term  of  the  proportion 
8  to  1  should  be  known.  It  is  quite  different  with  the  weight  of  the 
oxygen.  This  last  is  found  by  weighing  the  glass  combustion  tube 
containing  cupric  oxide  before  and  after  the  experiment,  and  between 
the  two  weighings  the  tube  is  heated  to  a  low  red  heat  for  several 
hours  while  a  stream  of  hydrogen  gas  is  passing  through  it;  and  there 
are  several  causes  which  may  lead  to  the  variation  of  these  weights, 
independent  of  the  oxygen  which  has  been  used  up  in  the  process. 
We  shall  allude  to  some  of  these  causes  below,  but  their  effect  would 
be  comparatively  unimportant  if  they  only  led  to  a  small  error  in  the 
observed  weight  of  the  oxygen.  Unfortunately  their  effect  is  not  thus 
limited  ;  for  when,  in  order  to  find  the  weight  of  the  hydrogen,  we 
subtract  from  the  weight  of  the  water,  which  may  be  regarded  rela- 
tively as  accurately  known,  the  weight  of  the  oxygen,  which  may  be 
for  the  causes  referred  to  slightly  erroneous,  the  whole  error  appears 
in  the  weight  of  the  hydrogen  thus  found,  and  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion. If,  for  example,  the  weight  of  the  oxygen  is  too  large,  the 
weight  of  the  hydrogen  will  be  too  small  by  exactly  the  same  amount ; 
and  although  the  error  may  be  an  inconsiderable  part  of  the  weight  of 
the  oxygen,  it  may  be  a  very  appreciable  quantity  in  the  weight  of 
the  hydrogen. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  a  means  could  be  devised  for  weighing  the 
hydrogen,  leaving  the  oxygen  to  be  determined  by  subtracting  this 


OF  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  157 

smaller  weight  from  the  weight  of  the  water,  then  a  small  error  in  the 
observed  weight  of  the  hydrogen  would  have  no  appreciable  effect  on 
the  weight  of  the  oxygen. 

Dumas  fully  recognized  the  source  of  error  to  which  we  have  re- 
ferred, and  in  his  paper  on  the  subject  wrote  what  may  be  translated 
as  follows :  — 

"  Of  all  analyses  presented  to  a  chemist,  that  of  water  is  the  one 
which  offers  the  greatest  uncertainty.  Indeed,  one  part  of  hydrogen 
unites  with  eight  parts  of  oxygen  to  form  water,  and  nothing  would 
be  more  exact  than  the  analysis  of  water,  if  we  could  weigh  the 
hydrogen  as  well  as  the  water  which  results  from  its  combustion. 
But  the  experiment  is  not  possible  under  this  form.  We  are  obliged 
to  weigh  the  water  formed,  and  the  oxygen  which  was  consumed  in 
producing  it,  and  to  determine  by  difference  the  weight  of  the  hydro- 
gen which  has  entered  into  combination.  Thus  an  error  of  ■$%■$  in  the 
weight  of  the  water,  or  of  F£^  in  the  weight  of  the  oxygen,  is  equiva- 
lent to  an  arror  of  fa  or  fa  in  the  weight  of  the  hydrogen.  Let 
these  two  errors  be  in  the  same  direction,  and  the  total  error  will 
amount  to  5^." 

In  the  second  place,  however  carefully  the  exterior  surface  of  the 
combustion  tube  may  be  guarded,  it  is  impossible  that  the  contents  of 
the  tube  should  bear  the  same  relations  to  the  surrounding  atmosphere 
before  and  after  the  combustion.  We  begin  with  a  tube  containing 
cupric  oxide  in  different  states,  and  we  end  with  it  containing  reduced 
copper,  whose  condition  will  vary  more  or  less  with  the  character 
of  the  oxide  employed;  and  the  power  of  these  materials  to  occlude 
air  or  hydrogen  is  an  unknown  quantity  in  our  experiment.  That 
it  is  an  appreciable  quantity  is  evident  from  several  incidental 
observations. 

Dumas  endeavored  to  avoid  any  source  of  error  arising  from  this 
cause  by  exhausting  the  combustion  tube  before  weighing  it,  but  he 
himself  expresses  a  doubt  whether  a  trace  of  hydrogen  might  not  have 
been  left.  Erdmann  and  Marchand  in  part  of  their  experiments  re- 
sorted to  the  same  expedient,  but  their  results  obviously  vary  with  the 
condition  of  the  cupric  oxide  employed;  and  the  following  remarks  of 
Schutzenberger,  in  a  discussion  of  the  variability  of  the  law  of  definite 
proportions  before  the  Chemical  Society  of  Paris  in  1 883,  as  quoted 
in  the  "  American  Journal  of  Science,"  3d  series,  Vol.  XXVI.  page  65, 
have  an  important  bearing  on  the  same  point:  — 

"  When  water  is  synthesized  by  reduction  of  a  known  weight  of 
CuO,  by  weighing  the  reduced  Cu  and  the  water  formed,  it  is  found 


158       PROCEEDINGS  OP  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY 

that  the  ratio  of  O  to  H  is  not  constant,  but  varies  with  the  state  of 
division  and  of  saturation  of  the  oxide,  the  duration  of  contact  of  the 
water  formed  with  the  oxide,  and  with  the  temperature,  from  7.95  to 
8.15.  The  latter  value  is  obtained  with  a  saturated  and  divided  oxide 
filling  the  tube,  the  former  with  oxide  in  lumps  filling  the  tube  for  a 
space  of  25  cm.  "With  a  larger  empty  space  the  ratio  has  fallen  to 
7.90.  When  the  synthesis  of  water  is  effected  by  weighing  the  hydro- 
gen consumed  (as  by  dissolving  a  known  weight  of  zinc  in  HC1)  and 
the  water  formed,  the  ratio  differs  according  to  the  contents  of  the 
combustion  tubes.  If  it  contains  granular  CuO  of  a  length  of  89  cm. 
heated  to  redness,  the  ratio  O  :  H  is  7.96  to  7.98  to  1  ;  at  a  low  tem- 
perature, 7.90  to  7.93  ;  if  the  CuO  is  replaced  by  PbCr04,  from  7.89 
to  7.93." 

In  addition  to  all  this,  impurities  in  the  oxide  of  copper  might  have 
a  serious  influence  on  the  result.  As  before  said,  Erdmann  and 
Marchand  speak  of  using  "  kaufliche  Kupfergliihspan  " ;  but  in  our 
work  we  could  find  no  commercial  cupric  oxide  which  did  not  contain 
a  marked  amount  of  arsenic.  "We  examined  a  number  of  specimens 
coming  from  the  best  German  and  American  dealers,  and  there  was 
not  a  single  instance  in  which  we  did  not  find  arsenic,  and  even  when 
the  material  was  marked  "  purissimum."  In  some  cases  the  amount 
of  arsenic  was  so  great,  that,  after  successive  reductions  and  oxidations, 
abundant  crystals  of  arsenious  oxide  collected  at  the  exit  end  of  the 
combustion  tube.  It  is  unnecessary  to  add  that  the  hydrogen  used 
was  free  from  all  such  impurity. 

For  our  own  experiments,  of  which  the  results  are  given  below,  not 
only  was  the  oxide  of  copper  prepared  from  absolutely  pure  electro- 
lytic copper,  but  also,  as  will  be  shown,  the  combustion  tube  was  left 
at  the  end  of  the  determination  as  it  was  at  first,  and  the  same  tube 
was  used  for  a  number  of  experiments. 

Apparatus  for  weighing  Hydrogen. 

In  entering  on  a  new  investigation  of  the  oxygen  and  hydrogen 
ratio,  it  was  evident  at  the  outset  that  no  advantage  was  to  be  gained 
by  multiplying  determinations  by  the  old  method.  The  only  hope  of 
improvement  lay  in  finding  some  method  of  weighing  the  hydrogen 
with  sufficient  accuracy  ;  and  it  was  essential  to  determine  this  weight 
to  within  one  ten-thousandth,  or  at  least  one  five-thousandth,  of  its 
value. 

A  gas  can  only  be  weighed  by  enclosing  it  in  a  glass  globe,  or  some 
similar  receiver,  and  hydrogen  is  so  exceedingly  light  that  its  total 


OF   ARTS    AND    SCIENCES.  159 

weight  can  only  be  a  very  small  fraction  of  the  weight  of  the  containing 
vessel.  Moreover,  as  the  buoyancy  of  the  air  is  fourteen  and  one  half 
times  as  great  as  the  weight  of  the  hydrogen,  the  variations  in  buoyancy 
caused  by  changing  atmospheric  conditions  have  an  all-important  effect 
on  the  apparent  weight.  The  late  Professor  Regnault,  of  Paris,  de- 
vised, however,  a  very  ingenious  method  of  compensation,  which  could 
readily  be  applied  in  this  case.  It  consisted  in  balancing  the  globe 
containing  hydrogen,  hung  to  one  arm  of  the  balance,  by  a  second 
globe  of  exactly  the  same  external  volume  and  made  of  the  same  mate- 
rial, hung  to  the  opposite  arm ;  and  so  arranging  the  balance  case  that 
they  should  hang  in  the  same  enclosure,  and  therefore  be  equally 
affected  by  atmospheric  changes.  This  method  was  applied  in  the 
problem  before  us ;  and  after  a  number  of  trials  it  was  found  possible 
to  make  the  compensation  so  accurate  that  under  good  conditions  the 
weight  of  a  globe  holding  five  litres  of  gas  did  not  vary  more  than  one 
tenth  of  a  milligram  through  large  changes  of  temperature  and  pressure. 
In  order  now  to  weigh  hydrogen  with  this  apparatus,  it  was  only  neces- 
sary to  exhaust  the  air  from  the  glass  receiver,  and,  after  balancing  it 
as  described,  to  fill  it  with  pure  gas,  when  the  increased  weight  —  less 
than  half  a  gram  with  our  apparatus  —  was  the  weight  of  hydrogen 
required. 

The  balance  employed  was  an  excellent  one,  made  about  twenty 
years  ago  by  Becker  and  Sons,  of  New  York.  With  a  load  of  five 
hundred  grams  in  each  pan,  it  turns  very  perceptibly  with  one  tenth 
of  a  milligram,  and  shows  this  small  difference  of  weight  with  very 
great  constancy. 

The  globe  and  its  counterpoise  were  hung  from  hooks  soldered  to  the 
bottoms  of  the  pans  by  means  of  wires  which  swung  freely  through  small 
holes  made  for  the  purpose  through  the  bottom  of  the  balance  case,  and 
also  through  the  top  of  the  shelf  on  which  the  case  stood.  The  enclosure 
in  which  the  globe  and  its  counterpoise  hung  was  a  box  made  of  tinned 
iron  fastened  to  the  bottom  of  the  shelf,  and  having  doors  in  front  like 
an  oven,  through  which  the  globe  could  be  removed  or  hung  in  posi- 
tion. This  case  was  coated  with  lampblack  on  the  inside,  in  order  to 
secure  uniformity  of  temperature ;  and  the  air  was  kept  dry  by  means 
of  two  large  dishes  of  sulphuric  acid,  placed  on  shelves  at  the  top  of 
the  case.  We  first  placed  the  sulphuric  acid  dishes  on  the  bottom  of 
the  case  in  the  usual  way,  but  we  found  it  impossible  thus  to  secure  a 
uniform  condition  of  the  atmosphere  within  ;  and  as  moist  air  is  neces- 
sarily lighter  than  an  equal  volume  of  dry  air  at  the  same  temperature 
and  pressure,  it  is  obvious  that  any  drying  material  will  have  the 


160 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


greatest  efficiency  when  placed  near  the  top  of  the  space  to  be  pro- 
tected. The  tin  box  was  itself  enclosed  in  a  cupboard,  but  not  other- 
wise protected ;  and  the  balance  case  was  surrounded  by  curtains,  in 
order  to  shield  the  beam  from  radiation. 

With  the  apparatus  so  arranged,  it  was  found  possible  to  obtain 
most  satisfactory  and  concordant  results  to  tenths  of  a  milligram 
when  the  change  in  the  temperature  of  the  balance-room  was  not 
very  rapid ;  but  any  sudden  changes  produced  by  artificial  heating 
would  cause  slight  currents  of  air  in  the  interior  of  the  case,  whose 
effect  became  very  sensible,  but  whose  influence  we  were  able  to 
eliminate.  The  best  series  of  results,  however,  (the  second  series  in 
the  table  below,)  was  obtained  during  the  month  of  June,  when  there 
was  no  artificial  heat  in  the  building,  and  the  temperature  varied  but 
little  during  day  and  night. 

The  globe  used  for  holding  the  hydrogen  —  shown  in  Fig.  1  in  about 
one  sixth  of  its  actual  dimensions  —  has  an  interior  capacity  of  49  G  1.5 

cubic  centimeters,  and  weighs  570.5 
grams.  The  cap  with  the  connect- 
ing tubes  was  ground  into  the  neck, 
and  this  joint,  as  also  the  stopcocks, 
was  so  carefully  made  that  there 
was  absolutely  no  leakage,  and  the 
globe  would  hold  a  vacuum  indefi- 
nitely ;  as  was  shown  frequently  by 
its  remaining  banc  on  the  balance 
for  weeks  together  when  exhausted 
without  change  of  weight.  The  ap- 
paratus was  made  by  Einil  Greiner, 
of  79  Nassau  Street,  New  York, 
whose  careful  workmanship  greatly 
contributed  to  the  success  of  our 
investigation.  The  details  of  the 
stopcock  are  shown  at  the  sides  ; 
and  it  will  be  noticed  that,  besides 
the  direct  way,  there  is  a  side  way 
through  the  plug  of  the  stopcock 
independent  of  the  first,  by  which, 
when  the  stopcock  is  closed,  a  connection  is  established  with  the  base 
of  the  cock,  through  which  the  gas  may  escape. 

Assume  now  that  the  interior  of  the  globe  has  been  exhausted,  and 
a  gas  current  established  through  this  side  aperture  from  one  of  the 


Fig.  1. 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  161 

generators  employed.  On  turning  the  stopcock,  the  side  aperture  is 
first  closed,  and  then  the  direct  way  slightly  opened,  so  that  all  the 
gas  evolved  now  passes  into  the  globe  ;  and  it  was  found  possible  to 
regulate  the  current  with  such  nicety  as  not  to  cause  any  sudden 
changes  of  tension  in  the  generator,  which  was  always  provided  with 
an  overflow  by  means  of  which  the  tension  could  be  watched,  and 
according  to  which  the  stopcock  was  regulated. 

The  filling  of  the  globe  was  one  of  the  critical  points  of  the  deter- 
mination. It  generally  occupied  from  one  to  two  hours,  and  during 
all  this  time  it  was  necessary,  with  the  hand  on  the  stopcock,  carefully 
to  watch  the  tension  at  the  overflow  already  mentioned,  and  repre- 
sented in  Fig.  5,  and  Figs.  7  and  8  of  Plate.  From  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  the  operation  there  was  a  greater  tension  in  the  generator 
than  in  the  outside  air,  by  about  one  inch  of  mercury.  When  the 
connection  was  once  established  between  the  generator  and  the  globe, 
there  was  absolutely  no  leakage  through  the  side  way,  as  was  tested 
in  several  cases  by  dipping  the  mouth  of  the  tube  at  the  base  of  the 
cock  under  mercury. 

The  whole  process  of  weighing  the  hydrogen  was  finally  reduced  to 
the  following  manipulation.  The  globe  was  connected  by  means  of  a 
rubber  hose  with  a  rotatory  air-pump  having  automatic  valves,  made 
by  E.  S.  Ritchie  of  Boston.  It  was  then  exhausted  to  within  1  mm. 
of  mercury.  Next,  closing  the  cock  and  disconnecting  the  globe,  it 
was  cleaned  with  distilled  water  and  fine  cotton  cloth  ;  at  least,  this  was 
done  five  or  six  times  during  the  determinations.  But  as  the  glohe 
when  out  of  the  balance  case  was  always  protected  by  a  cylindrical  tin 
box  with  a  cover,  from  which  the  exit  tubes  projected,  it  was  usually 
only  necessary  to  clean  the  exit  tubes  in  this  careful  manner,  simply 
dusting  off  the  globe  with  a  large  camel's-hair  brush,  before  hanging 
it  in  the  balance  case.  In  this  part  of  the  operation  it  was  necessary 
to  take  care  not  to  communicate  to  the  globe  a  charge  of  electricity  by 
rubbing  it  with  a  perfectly  dry  cloth. 

The  globe  was  hung  on  a  wire  stirrup,  which  caught  the  exit  tubes, 
as  the  glass  joint  was  sufficiently  strong  to  support  the  weight  of  the 
globe.  The  globe  was  so  nearly  balanced  by  its  equipoise  that  when 
exhausted  it  only  required  about  one  decigram  to  establish  equilibrium. 
The  time  required  to  attain  perfect  equilibrium  varied  with  the  con- 
ditions. If  the  glass  had  been  previously  cleaned  as  described  above, 
perfect  equilibrium  might  not  be  reached  for  forty-eight  hours,  or  even 
longer,  while  if  the  glass  had  only  been  dusted,  twelve  hours  were  gen- 
erally sufficient. 

vol.  xxm.  (n.  s  xv.)  11 


162 


PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


After  the  tare  had  thus  been  takeu,  the  globe  was  removed  from 
the  balance,  placed  in  the  protecting  case,  and  filled  with  hydrogen  as 
just  described.  The  inlet  tube,  to  which  a  rubber  connector  had  been 
attached,  was  scrupulously  cleaned  as  before,  and  the  globe  was  again 
dusted  and  hung  on  the  balance.  During  all  these  transfers  the  globe 
was  always  handled  with  clean  cotton  cloth,  and  the  hands  never  came 
in  contact  with  the  glass.  The  increased  weight  was  now  the  weight 
of  the  hydrogen  ;  and  as  the  volumes  equipoised  were  exactly  the 
same,  and  the  additional  weight  was  represented  by  less  than  five 
tenths  of  a  gram  of  platinum,  any  correction  for  the  buoyancy  of  the 
atmosphere  is  unessential. 

Combustion  Apparatus. 

The  apparatus  by  which  the  combustion  of  the  hydrogen  was  made 
is  represented  in  the  Plate  accompanying  the  paper  (Fig.  6).  It  is  made 
up  of  a  series  of  small  combustion  furnaces,  which  are  a  modification 
of  a  kerosene-oil  stove  called  "  the  American,"  very  much  used  in  the 
United  States.     This  stove,  as  adapted  to  chemical  uses  by  the  writer, 

is  shown  in  Figs.  2  and  3,  and  it  has 
proved  of  great  value,  not  only  for  ele- 
mentary chemical  experiments  in  school 
courses,  where  illuminating  gas  is  not 
to  be  had,  but  also  iu  a  well  equipped 
chemical  laboratory.  The  stove  is 
made  for  burning  kerosene  oil,  but 
alcohol  can  also  be  burnt  in  it  with 
decided  advantage  for  chemical  work. 
The  figure  of  the  stove  has  been  drawn 
to  about  one  sixth  of  the  actual  size. 

In  the  figure  of  the  combustion  ap- 
paratus (Fig.  6,  Plate)  it  will  be  no- 
ticed that  the  globe,  protected  by  its 
case,  stands  about  in  the  middle  of  the 
line.  By  means  of  a  suction  pump 
attached  to  the  extreme  right  of  the 
apparatus,  a  current  of  air  is  main- 
tained through  the  whole  length.  Beginning  now  at  the  extreme 
left,  the  air  first  passes  over  reduced  copper,  and  is  deprived  of  its 
oxygen.  It  next  passes  over  cupric  oxide,  by  which  any  traces  of 
hydrogen  that  had  remained  occluded  by  the  reduced  copper,  or  any 
traces  of  hydrocarbons  in  the  air  itself,  are  burnt.     It  next  passes 


Fig.  2. 


OF   ARTS    AND   SCIENCES. 


163 


through  caustic  potash  bulbs,  and  then  through  a  system  of  driers, 
meeting  successively  calcic  chloride,  sulphuric  acid,  and   phosphoric 


Fig.  8. 

pentoxide.  It  now  enters  the  globe  through  the  inlet  tube  reaching 
to  the  bottom,  carrying  before  it  the  hydrogen  into  the  combustion 
furnace. 

The  water  from  the  combustion  was  collected  in  a  condenser,  —  the 
details  of  whose  construction  are  represented  in  Fig.  4, —  which  was 
shielded  from  the  furnace  by  a  screen  of  asbestos  paper.  Nine  tenths 
of  the  water  was  condensed  in  the  middle  tube,  and 
all  but  the  last  traces  of  the  aqueous  vapor  were 
absorbed  by  the  sulphuric  acid  through  which  the 
air  subsequently  bubbled  up  at  the  bend  of  the  U 
tube,  between  glass  beads,  which  broke  the  ascent 
and  divided  the  bubbles.  With  this  condenser  was 
connected  a  U  tube  containing  phosphoric  pentox- 
ide, which  absorbed  the  last  traces  of  the  aqueous 
vapor,  seldom,  however,  gaining  in  weight  more 
than  two  milligrams  during  a  combustion  lasting 
from  seven  to  eight  hours.  Then  follows  a  safety 
tube  containing  calcic  chloride  (or  in  some  cases 
phosphoric  pentoxide),  to  prevent  any  reflex  diffu- 
sion, and  finally  an  adaptation  of  the  principle  of 
Mariotte's  flask  to  regulate  the  velocity  of  the  air 
current.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  open  mouth  of  the  central  tube  of 
this  last  apparatus  dips  under  the  mercury  iu  the  tall  jar,  so  that  by 
raising  or  lowering  it  the  strength  of  the  current  could  be  exactly 
regulated. 


Tig.  4. 


164  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

Before  beginning  a  combustion,  the  place  of  the  hydrogen  globe  was 
supplied  by  a  straight  piece  of  glass  tubing,  and  the  air  current  main- 
tained through  the  heated  combustion  tube  until  the  cupric  oxide  was 
perfectly  dry.  Next  the  furnace  at  the  extreme  left  was  lighted,  and 
the  current  continued  until  the  oxygen  in  the  air  of  the  drying  tubes 
had  been  so  far  replaced  by  nitrogen  as  to  remove  all  risk  of  sub- 
sequent explosion. 

Meanwhile  the  globe  and  condensing  tubes  were  made  ready,  and 
first  the  globe  and  next  the  condensing  tubes  were  placed  in  position, 
all  the  rubber  connectors  required  having  been  previously  dried  in  the 
current  of  dry  air,  and  the  joints  were  so  contrived  that  subsequently 
the  stream  of  gas  came  in  contact  with  the  smallest  possible  surface 
of  the  rubber  connectors.  The  combustion  lasted,  as  has  been  already 
stated,  from  seven  to  eight  hours,  and  during  this  time  quite  a  rapid 
current  of  air  was  drawn  through  the  apparatus. 

Our  preliminary  experiments  plainly  showed  that  the  rapidity  of 
the  current  within  practicable  limits  had  no  appreciable  effect  on  our 
results,  and  this  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  current  entered  the  globe 
and  left  the  condensers  under  precisely  the  same  conditions.  More 
than  nine  tenths  of  the  water  was  condensed  during  the  first  half-hour, 
the  drops  falling  regularly  from  the  mouth  of  the  inlet  tube,  and  after 
two  hours  all  traces  of  cloudiness  disappeared  from  this  tube  or  its 
connections,  showing  that  the  air  coming  over  was  perfectly  dry.  The 
water  thus  collected  was  absolutely  clear  and  limpid. 

After  the  first  hour  the  combustion  furnace  used  for  removing  oxy- 
gen from  the  air,  at  the  extreme  left,  was  taken  away,  and  by  the  end 
of  the  combustion  the  reduced  copper  in  the  combustion  tube  proper 
was  again  completely  oxidized,  leaving  the  globe  and  all  the  tubes 
filled  with  normal  air,  as  at  the  beginning  of  the  process.  It  only 
remained  now  to  remove  the  condensers,  and  reweigh  them  with  all 
necessary  precautions.  At  both  weighings  the  barometer  and  ther- 
mometer were  observed,  and  the  small,  usually  insignificant  correction 
for  buoyancy  caused  by  a  change  in  the  atmosphere  during  the  interval 
was  carefully  estimated. 

The  question  of  the  time  of  running  the  combustion  after  the  pro- 
duction of  water  had  sensibly  ceased  was  one  that  was  carefully  con- 
sidered. The  time  mentioned  above  —  eight  hours  —  was  far  outside 
the  necessary  limits,  and  was  reached  only  after  a  large  number  of 
experiments.  That  a  very  long  continuance  of  the  current  after  the 
combustion  was  practically  ended  was  unnecessary,  was  clearly  shown 
by  several  circumstances.     In  the  first  place,  the  duration  of  the  com- 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  165 

bustion  beyond  the  limit  we  have  named  made  no  difference  in  our 
results,  as  was  repeatedly  shown.  Again,  in  one  instance,  after  de- 
taching the  condensation  tubes  and  weighing  them,  they  were  again 
put  in  place  and  the  combustion  continued  three  hours  longer,  during 
which  time  the  tubes  gained  no  appreciable  weight.  In  another  in- 
stance, when  a  suspicion  arose  that  possibly  some  hydrogen  might  be 
occluded  on  the  walls  of  the  globe,  the  condensation  tubes  having  been 
dismounted  and  weighed  as  before,  the  globe  was  also  dismounted  and 
heated  over  the  free  flame  of  a  Bunsen  lamp  to  as  high  a  temperature 
as  the  glass  would  safely  bear,  over  300°  C,  and  then,  the  apparatus 
having  been  remounted,  the  combustion  was  continued  for  one  hour. 
Here  again  the  condensation  tubes  gained  only  a  small  fraction  of 
a  milligram  in  weight,  an  effect  which  might  easily  be  accidental, 
and  which  was  wholly  without  influence  on  the  result. 

Apparatus  for  preparing  Hydrogen. 

In  the  preliminary  determinations,  the  hydrogen  was  drawn  from 
a  large  copper  generator  charged  with  zinc  and  dilute  sulphuric  acid. 
The  zinc  and  sulphuric  acid  were  wholly  free  from  arsenic,  and  of  the 
best  quality,  but  not  absolutely  pure;  and  the  writer  depended  upon 
an  elaborate  system  of  washers  and  driers  for  purifying  and  drying 
the  gas.  He  found  the  greatest  difficulty  in  removing  the  last  traces 
of  sulphurous  oxide,  which  hydrogen  prepared  in  this  way  always  car- 
ries. The  presence  of  this  trace  cannot  be  detected  by  litmus  paper, 
but  is  immediately  indicated  by  the  production  of  hydric  sulphide  when 
the  gas  is  passed  over  heated  platinum  sponge  ;  and  by  interposing  a 
tube  containing  platinum  sponge  maintained  at  a  low  red  heat,  fol- 
lowed by  a  set  of  potash  bulbs,  this  impurity  can  be  entirely  removed. 
It  can  also  be  removed  by  washing  with  a  strong  solution  of  potassic 
hydrate  alone,  if  the  gas  remains  long  enough  in  contact  with  the  solu- 
tion. It  was  found,  however,  that  a  series  of  potash  bulbs  was  insuffi- 
cient for  this  purpose ;  but  two  of  the  long  washers  represented  in  the 
background  of  Fig.  5  and  in  Figs.  7  and  8  (Plate),  where  the  gas  in 
small  bubbles  travels  up  a  tube  5|  feet  long,  are  sufficient  to  remove 
the  sulphurous  oxide  from  even  a  quite  rapid  current  of  hydrogen  gas. 
A  series  of  preliminary  determinations  was  made  with  hydrogen  gas 
thus  prepared  and  purified,  and  it  was  obvious  from  an  inspection  of 
the  results,  as  well  as  from  the  difficulties  which  were  experienced  in 
keeping  all  the  joints  of  this  complicated  apparatus  tight,  that  the 
irregularities  arose  from  the  diffusion  of  the  air  into  the  hydrogen  at 
some  one  or  other  of  these  joints.     It  was  therefore  next  sought  to 


166 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


simplify  the  apparatus,  and  to  depend  upon  the  purity  of  materials 
rather  than  on  the  completeness  of  purifying  methods  for  obtaining 
pure  hydrogen.  Meanwhile,  for  reasons  stated  below,  the  writer  had 
reduced  very  materially  the  scale  of  his  operations,  and  this  rendered 
unnecessary  the  large  generator  we  had  first  employed. 

The  second  apparatus  that  was  constructed  is  represented  in  Fig.  5. 
Of  this,  the  generator,  in  which  hydrogen  is  made  from  pure  zinc  and 
hydrochloric  acid,  is  the  same  as  that  described  by  Julius  Thomsen.* 
The  Wolff  bottle  is  filled  with  pure  granulated  zinc,  and  the  upper 
bottle  contains  pure  hydrochloric  acid  diluted  about  one  half.  By 
means  of  a  glass  stopcock  the  acid  is  allowed  to  flow  into  the  zinc 
drop  by  drop,  and  in  this  way  the  current  of  hydrogen  can  be  quite 


Fig.  5. 

closely  regulated.  Tubes  protected  by  stopcocks  are  provided  for 
adding  fresh  charges  of  acid,  and  for  drawing  off  the  solution  of  zinc 
chloride ;  also  a  tube  connecting  the  upper  part  of  the  two  bottles 
enables  the  operator  to  effect  these  transfers  without  introducing  any 
air.  The  gas  from  this  generator  passed  first  through  a  long  potash 
tube  inclined  at  about  10°  to  the  horizon,  then  through  a  tube  about 
three  feet  long  filled  with  calcic  chloride,  then  through  a  glass  tower 
filled  with  glass  beads  drenched  with  sulphuric  acid,  and  lastly  through 
a  second  tower  filled  with  phosphoric  pentoxide.  As  many  of  the 
joints  as  possible  were  made  by  fusing  together  the  glass,  and  all  the 
others  were  protected  by  a  cement  consisting  of  equal  parts  of  pitch 
and  gutta-percha.  It  will  be  noticed  that  an  overflow  is  provided  at 
the  point  where  the  potash  tube  connects  with  the  calcic  chloride  tube, 


*  Thermochem.  Untersuch.,  vol.  i.  p.  28. 


OF   ARTS    AND   SCIENCES.  167 

the  open  mouth  of  the  overflow  tube  dipping  about  six  or  eight  inches 
deep  under  concentrated  sulphuric  acid.  This  overflow  indicated  the 
least  chauge  of  tension  of  the  hydrogen  in  the  apparatus,  and  would 
have  shown  the  least  leak  if  it  had  existed ;  but  the  apparatus  as  thus 
constructed  remained  absolutely  tight  so  long  as  it  was  in  use. 

With  the  hydrogen  drawn  from  this  apparatus,  the  first  determina- 
tions were  not  wholly  satisfactory,  and  the  cause  of  error  was  traced 
to  the  air  dissolved  in  the  dilute  hydrochloric  acid  with  which  the 
generator  was  charged.  In  all  the  succeeding  determinations  the 
greatest  pains  was  taken  to  remove  the  last  traces  of  air  by  boiling 
the  dilute  acid,  and  allowing  it  to  cool  in  a  stream  of  hydrogen  ;  and 
as  additional  precaution,  while  the  solution  was  still  warm,  the  gas 
was  exhausted  from  the  containing  vessel  and  pure  hydrogen  run  in, 
several  times  in  succession,  the  pure  acid  being  finally  conveyed  into 
the  generator  entirely  out  of  contact  with  the  air.  The  need  of  all 
these  precautions  will  be  seen  when  it  is  considered  how  small  an  ad- 
mixture of  air  or  of  nitrogen  will  materially  influence  the  weight  of  the 
hydrogen.  If  only  one  ten-thousandth  of  the  volume  of  the  hydrogen 
were  replaced  by  air  during  the  process  of  filling  the  globe,  this  would 
cause  an  apparent  increase  of  weight  in  the  hydrogen  of  five  tenths  of 
a  milligram,  and  that,  other  things  being  equal,  would  reduce  the 
atomic  weight  of  oxygen  two  hundredths  of  a  unit. 

The  precautions  used  in  filling  the  globe  have  already  been  described 
in  detail,  and  with  hydrogen  from  the  apparatus,  constructed  and 
charged  as  just  described,  were  made  the  five  consecutive  determina- 
tions whose  results  are  given  as  of  the  first  series  in  the  table  on  page 
173.  These,  and  all  the  determinations  given  in  the  table,  were  made 
by  the  writer's  pupil  and  assistant,  Mr.  Theodore  William  Richards, 
to  whose  experimental  skill  the  success  of  the  investigation  is  largely 
due,  and  without  whose  assistance  the  work  could  not  have  been  com- 
pleted in  the  present  condition  of  the  writer's  sight.  The  mean  of 
these  first  five  results,  as  will  be  noticed,  is  but  little  less  than  that 
obtained  by  Dumas,  and  the  probable  error,  ±0.0048,  is  considerably 
less  than  that  of  Dumas.  In  order  to  understand  how  this  result  ap- 
peared to  the  writer,  it  must  be  remembered  that  he  started  with  a 
certain  prepossession  in  favor  of  the  hypothesis  of  Prout,  based  on  his 
previous  work  on  antimony ;  and,  furthermore,  that*  the  effect  of  the 
causes  of  error  which  had  been  encouutered  and  overcome  all  tended 
to  lower  the  atomic  weight ;  and  the  result  obtained  was  a  maximum 
which  had  been  reached  after  every  known  precaution  had  been  taken. 
But  although  this  maximum  was  essentially  the  same  as  that  obtained 


168  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

by  Dumas  by  an  obviously  less  direct  and  less  accurate  method,  yet  it 
was  still  possible  that  there  might  be  some  constant  error,  and  that 
some  cause  might  yet  be  found  which  would  raise  the  maximum  by 
the  forty-six  thousandths  required  to  give  the  whole  number  16.  It 
was  true  that  the  probable  error  was  only  about  one  tenth  of  this  dif- 
ference ;  still,  as  the  materials  had  been  purified,  the  maximum  had 
constantly  risen,  and  the  theoretical  limit  was  in  sight.  In  reviewing 
the  work,  it  was  obvious  that  the  degree  of  accuracy  of  the  methods 
used  for  determining  the  weights  both  of  the  hydrogen  and  of  the 
water  was  so  great,  that  no  possible  error  in  these  values  could  account 
for  the  difference  in  question.  This  would  imply  an  error  of  1.2  mil- 
ligrams in  the  weight  of  the  hydrogen,  and  of  10.8  milligrams  in  the 
weight  of  the  water,  and  the  possible  error  of  a  single  determination  — 
leaving  out  of  account  the  reduced  probable  error  of  the  average 
value  —  was  far  within  these  limits.  If  there  was  a  constant  error,  it 
must  result  from  the  want  of  purity  of  the  hydrogen  gas,  and  we  there- 
fore determined  to  try  another  method  for  preparing  the  hydrogen. 

The  apparatus  next  used  is  represented  in  Fig.  7  (Plate),  and  differs 
from  the  last  only  in  the  generator.  Here  the  generator  is  a  three- 
necked  bottle  having  a  capacity  of  about  two  litres,  filled  to  about  one 
eighth  of  its  capacity  with  a  semifluid  amalgam  of  mercury  and  pure 
zinc.  On  this  rests  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  containing  about  twenty 
per  cent  of  HC1,  nearly  filling  the  bottle.  Into  this  acid  dips  a  plati- 
num electrode,  while  a  straight  glass  tube  passing  through  the  middle 
neck  and  dipping  under  the  amalgam  gives  the  means  of  establishing 
an  electrical  connection  between  the  large  platinum  plate  which  forms 
the  negative  electrode  and  the  amalgam.  In  addition,  a  siphon  tube 
for  drawing  off  the  acid  when  saturated  with  zinc,  a  funnel  tube  for 
introducing  a  fresh  charge,  and  an  exit  tube,  all  well  cemented  to  the 
several  necks  of  the  bottle,  complete  the  generator.  When  the  electri- 
cal connection  is  broken,  all  chemical  action  ceases,  but  on  connecting 
by  a  wire  the  platinum  electrode  with  the  amalgam,  a  very  steady  but 
slow  evolution  of  hydrogen  gas  takes  place,  which  can  be  regulated 
with  the  greatest  nicety  by  varying  the  resistance  of  the  connecting 
wire.  On  interposing  two  cells  of  a  Bunsen  battery  the  evolution  of 
gas  becomes  very  rapid.  Besides  its  special  use  in  this  connection, 
the  apparatus  will  be  found  of  great  value  as  giving  an  absolutely 
constant  source  of  pure  hydrogen  whenever  required.  In  charging 
the  generator  with  acid,  the  same  care  was  taken  to  exclude  every  trace 
of  air  as  with  the  previous  apparatus,  and  with  hydrogen  thus  prepared 
a  second  series  of  five  consecutive  determinations  was  made,  whose 


OF    ARTS    AND   SCIENCES.  169 

results  are  given  in  the  table  on  page  173,  below  those  of  the  first 
series ;  and  it  will  be  noticed  that,  while  the  average  value  obtained  is 
essentially  identical  with  the  previous  result,  the  agreement  of  the 
several  determinations  is  more  close,  and  in  consequence  the  probable 
error  is  reduced  more  than  one  half.  A  closer  agreement  under  the 
circumstances  could  not  possibly  be  expected. 

Such  a  striking  confirmation  of  the  previous  result  seemed  very 
conclusive,  and  the  very  small  probable  error  indicated  a  command  of 
the  method  which  was  very  satisfactory.  Still,  it.  could  not  be  proved 
that  there  might  not  be  a  constant  impurity  in  the  hydrogen  used.  As 
the  hydrogen  had  passed  every  possible  chemical  test  unimpeached, 
the  only  possible  impurity  that  could  be  suspected  was  nitrogen,  and 
Mr.  Richards  therefore  made  a  careful  spectroscopic  examination, 
searching  for  the  more  conspicuous  nitrogen  lines  in  the  spectrum 
obtained  by  passing  an  induction  current  through  a  rarefied  atmosphere 
of  the  gas  from  the  generator  just  described ;  but  not  the  faintest  trace 
of  any  of  these  lines  could  be  seen. 

Still,  as  in  the  electrolytic  method  of  preparing  the  hydrogen  the 
same  materials,  hydrochloric  acid  and  zinc,  were  used  as  in  the  first 
series  of  experiments,  it  was  determined  to  procure  hydrogen  by  a 
wholly  different  chemical  process,  using  the  well-known  reaction  of 
metallic  aluminum  upon  a  solution  of  potassic  hydrate. 

The  purest  aluminum  sheet  that  could  be  obtained  in  the  American 
market  was  procured  for  the  purpose,  and  the  apparatus  represented 
in  Fig.  8  (Plate)  was  used  for  generating  the  gas.  The  generator  here 
was  a  simple  flask  holding  a  strong  solution  of  chemically  pure  potassic 
hydrate,  aud  the  aluminum  was  introduced  in  small  pieces  through  a 
large  open  tube,  —  dipping  under  the  surface  of  the  solution,  —  the 
liquid  being  maintained  at  a  level  near  the  open  mouth  of  the  tube  by 
the  tension  in  the  interior  of  the  apparatus.  The  small  strips  of  alu- 
minum were  carefully  cleaned,  and  caused  slowly  to  slide  down  the 
tube ;  the  evolution  of  hydrogen  from  the  surface  began  as  soon  as 
the  strips  of  metal  touched  the  liquid,  and  became  very  active  in  the 
tube  before  they  dropped  into  the  flask.  And  this  action  insured  the 
removal  of  any  traces  of  air  which  might  adhere  to  the  surface.  In 
this  apparatus  the  long  caustic  potash  washer  was  not  used,  as  being 
no  longer  necessary,  and  the  gas  was  passed  through  caustic  potash 
bulbs  to  remove  the  spray,  and  then  through  a  calcic  chloride  tube, 
and  over  sulphuric  acid  and  phosphoric  pentoxide,  as  before. 

With  hydrogen  thus  prepared,  the  six  determinations  of  the  third 
series  in  the  table  were  made ;  and  it  will  be  seen  that  the  average  of 


170  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

the  results  is  a  value  which  is  essentially  identical  with  the  average 
values  from  the  other  two  series.  The  probable  error  in  this  last 
series  is  larger  than  in  the  second,  although  still  very  small ;  but  the 
difference  is  due,  as  the  note-books  plainly  show,  to  the  different  con- 
ditions under  which  the  two  series  were  made.  As  before  stated,  the 
condensation  of  the  balance  was  perfect,  and  the  apparent  weight  of 
the  globe  did  not  alter  by  a  tenth  of  a  milligram,  even  with  wide 
variations  of  temperature  and  pressure,  so  soon  as  those  changes  be- 
came constant.  But  when  the  changes  of  temperature  in  the  balance- 
room  were  rapid,  currents  of  air  were  established  in  the  case,  however 
great  care  was  taken  in  protecting  it,  which  rendered  the  apparent 
weight  irregular  to  the  extent  of  one  or  two  tenths  of  a  milligram ; 
and  the  third  series  was  made  under  less  favorable  conditions  in  this 
respect  than  the  second.  This  point  is  illustrated  by  the  following 
notes  of  two  determinations,  which  are  given  in  full,  in  order  that  all 
the  circumstances  connected  with  the  determinations  may  be  seen. 

Series  II.     Determination  5. 

Weighings  of  the  globe :  —  Grams. 

Exhausted.  June  6th,    6.00  p.  m.  Tare  =  0.1960 


th,    7.25  a.  in. 

u 

=  0.2011 

"      8.30  a.  m. 

a 

=  0.2011 

"    11.20  a.m. 

u 

==  0.2011 

"      2.00  p.  m. 

H 

=  0.2011 

0.2011 
Filled  with  Hydrogen.     June  7th,    7.20  p.  m.  Tare  =  0.6100 


"      8th,    8.00  a.  m.      "    : 

=  0.6156 

"            "      10.00  A.  M.        "      : 

=  0.6156 

"            "      12.15  P.  M.        "       : 

=  0.6154 

"            "         7.50  A.  M.        "      : 

=  0.6155 

"            "         9.30  A.  M.        "      : 

=  0.6155 

"            "      11.40  A.M.        "      : 

=  0.6155 

0.6155 

Weight  of  Hydrogen  taken  =  0.6155  —  0.2011  =  0.4144  gram. 

The  combustion  was  started  at  11  A.  m.,  and  stopped 

at  6  p. m. 

Weight  of  P205  tube, 

before  combustion    =  48.2499           h  =  29.58 

*  =  26.0 

after            "              =48.2529           h  =  29.76 

*  =  23.5 

Gain  in  weight  =    0.0030               +  0.18 

-2.5 

OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


171 


Weight  of  H2S04  tube, 

before  combustion    =  62.3959 
after  "  =  66.1076 


Gain  in  weight  =    3.7117 


h  =  29.58 
h  =  29.75 


+  0.17 


26.5 
23.5 


3.0 


The  correction  to  vacuum  for  3.7117  grams  of  water  weighed  with 
brass  and  platinum  weights  is  4.1  mg. 


Gain  in  weight  of  H2S04  =3.7117  grams. 

"  "         P,0,  =0.0030 

Correction  to  vacuum  =  0.0041 

"  for  t  and  h,  P205  =  0.0004 


H2S04  =  0.0005 


a 
a 
u 


Total  H20  formed 
Weight  H  taken 

Weight  O  combined 
Atomic  weight  of  Oxygen 
%  H  in  water  =  11.140. 


=  3.7197 
=  0.4144 


=  3.3053      " 
2  x  3.3053 


15.953 


0.4144 
%  O  in  water  =  88.860. 


Series  III.     Determination  5. 


Weighings  of  the  globe : 

— 

Grams. 

Exhausted. 

Nov. 

8th,    7.45  a.  Mr. 

Tare 

=  0.1127 

« 

"     11.10  a.m. 

u 

=  0.1125 

u 

"     12.00  m. 

u 

=  0.1122 

u 

"       5.00  p.  m. 

u 

=  0.1122 

a 

9th,    8.40  A.  m. 

a 

=  0.1121 

a 

"       9.15  a.m. 

a 

=  0.1119 

a 

«     12.40  p.m. 

a 

=  0.1120 

a 

"       4.00  p.  m. 

a 

=  0.1121 

a 

10th,    8.40  a.  m. 

a 

=  0.1119 

a 

"     10.40  a.m. 

u 

=  0.1120 

u 

11th,    8.40  a.m. 

a 

=  0.1121 

a 

"     10.15  a.m. 

a 

=  0.1120 

Average    "    =0.1120 


172  PROCEEDINGS    OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


Grams. 

Filled  with  Hydrogen.    Nov. 

11th,  12.45  p.m. 

Tare 

=  0.5325 

u 

"       4.00  p.  m. 

a 

=  0.5348 

u 

6.00  p.  m. 

u 

=  0.5328 

u 

12th,  12.00  m. 

a 

=  0.5273 

u 

14th,    8.00  a.m. 

n 

=  0.5273 

n 

"       9.30  a*,  m. 

u 

=  0.5273 

it 

"     11.15  a.m. 
with  H 

it 

=  0.5273 

Tare  filled 

=  0.5273 

"    empti 

T 

=  0.1120 

Weio-ht  H 

=  0.4153 

The  combustion  was  started  at  11.25  a.m.,  and  stopped  at  6  p.m. 

Weight  of  P205  tube, 

before  combustion    =  48.1795  h  =  30.03  t  =  1 6.5 

after  "  =48.1832  h  =  30.00  *=18.0 


Gain  in  weight  =    0.0037  —  0.03  +  1.5 

Weight  of  H2S04  tube, 

before  combustion    =  64.9625  h  =  30.03  t  —  16.5 

after             "            =67.6832  h  =  30.00  <=18.0 


Gain  in  weight  =    3.7207  —0.03  +  1.5 

Gain  in  weight  of  H2S04  =      3.7207  grams. 


P20.  =      0.0037 


.. 


Correction  to  vacuum  =      0.0041      " 


3.7285      " 
Correction  for  t  and  h,  H2S04  =  —  0.0002      " 


P205     =  -  0.0002 


Total  H,0  formed  =      3.7281 


u 


u 


Weight  H  taken  =      0.4153      " 


Weight  O  combined  =      3.3128      " 

Atomic  weight  of  Oxygen  =  - —      '     —  =  15.954 
%H  =  11.139.  %  0  =  88.861. 


OF    ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 


173 


ATOMIC   WEIGHT   OF   OXYGEN. 


Table  of  Final  Results. 

Series 

I. 

Weight  of 

Weight  of 

Atomic  Weight  of 

Hydrogen. 

Water. 

Oxygen. 

0.4233 

3.8048 

15.977 

0.4136 

3.7094 

15.937 

0.4213 

3.7834 

15.960 

0.4163 

3.7345 

15.941 

0.4131 

3.7085 

15.954 

Average  =  15.954  ±  0.0048 


Series  II. 


0.4112 
0.4089 
0.4261 
0.4197 
0.4144 


3.6930 
3.6709 
3.8253 
3.7651 
3.7197 


15.962 
15.955 
15.955 
15.942 
15.953 


Average 

=  15.953 

Series 

III. 

0.42205 

3.7865 

15.943 

0.4284 

3.8436 

15.944 

0.4205 

3.7776 

15.967 

0.43205 

3.8748 

15.937 

0,4153 

3.7281 

15.954 

0.4167 

3.7435 

15.967 

Average 


=  15.952  ±  0.0035 


Total  average  =  15.953  ±  0.0017 


Dumas's  value  =  15.960  ±  0.0070 


174  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

On  examining  the  table,  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  mean  of  the 
determination  by  the  electrolytic  method  is  the  mean  of  all  the  deter- 
minations combined,  and  that  the  probable  error  of  the  total  average 
is  only  about  one  fourth  as  great  as  the  error  of  the  nineteen  deter- 
minations of  Dumas,  which  are  incomparably  the  best  that  have  hitherto 
been  made. 

It  does  not  now  seem  possible  to  escape  from  the  conclusion,  that 
the  proportions  in  which  the  purest  hydrogen  that  can  be  made  com- 
bines with  oxygen  to  form  water  are  those  of  2  to  15.953,  with  a 
possible  error  far  within  the  T^7  of  a  single  unit. 

The  question,  of  course,  still  remains,  Is  the  hydrogen  thus  prepared 
the  typical  hydrogen  element?  But  this  is  the  same  question  which 
must  arise  in  regard  to  any  one  of  the  elementary  substances ;  and  all 
that  we  can  say  is,  that  the  evidence  in  regard  to  the  purity  of  the 
hydrogen  we  have  used  is  as  good  as  any  that  can  be  adduced  in  re- 
gard to  any  one  of  the  elementary  substances  whose  atomic  weight  has 
been  most  accurately  determined.  The  question  as  regards  Prout's 
hypothesis  narrows  itself  now  to  this  one  point ;  and  here  we  must  be 
content  to  leave  it  until  further  investigation  has  given  us  more 
knowledge  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  elementary  substances. 

The  writer  at  first  planned  to  carry  out  the  investigation  on  a  much 
larger  scale,  and  for  the  purpose  had  blown  a  globe  similar  to  that 
represented  by  Fig.  1,  but  of  five  times  the  capacity,  and  counterpoised 
it  by  the  same  general  method.  This  globe  held  twenty-five  litres 
(somewhat  over  two  grams  of  hydrogen  gas),  or  five  times  as  much  as 
the  globe  actually  used  ;  but  the  difficulties  of  carrying  out  the  deter- 
minations on  this  scale  led  him  to  reduce  the  scale  of  the  determinations 
to  that  actually  adopted  ;  and  in  the  view  of  the  results  finally  reached, 
it  is  evident  that  no  appreciable  advantage  would  have  been  gained 
from  the  enormous  expenditure  of  time  and  labor  which  the  process 
on  a  large  scale  involves.  Assuming  that  the  difficulties  of  preparing 
pure  hydrogen  gas  on'  that  scale  could  have  been  overcome,  it  would 
have  required  from  five  to  seven  hours  to  fill  the  globe,  and  four  or 
five  days  continuously  to  complete  the  combustion. 

Moreover,  after  many  trials,  the  writer  could  not  procure  a  globe 
that  would  stand  the  requisite  pressure  weighing  less  than  two  and 
one  half  kilograms,  and  with  this  weight  and  volume  it  was  not 
possible,  with  the  best  balance  he  could  command,  to  distinguish 
half  a  milligram  with  as  much  accuracy  as  he  could  one  tenth  of  a 
milligram  with  the  smaller  apparatus,  while  a  vastly  longer  time  was 
required  to  reach  equilibrium.     A  great  deal  of  time  was  spent  in 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  175 

endeavoring  to  perfect  this  larger  apparatus,  and  a  very  thorough 
knowledge  was  acquired  of  its  relative  efficiency.  The  greatest  gain 
that  could  have  been  expected  in  carrying  out  the  work  on  this  scale 
would  have  been  the  reduction  of  the  probable  error  to  about  one 
half  of  the  present  amount,  but  it  is  obvious  that  this  gain  could  be 
of  no  importance  in  the  present  condition  of  the  science.  The  accu- 
racy we  have  reached  is  far  beyond  the  demands  of  any  analytical 
work ;  and,  as  we  have  shown,  the  theoretical  question  in  regard  to 
Front's  law  has  been  settled  so  far  as  analytical  work  can  solve  the 
problem.  It  now  turns  solely  on  the  typical  character  of  the  material 
we  call  hydrogen,  when  prepared  in  the  purest  condition  known  to 
modern  science. 

In  considering  the  bearing  of  the  result  now  published  on  Prout's 
hypothesis,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  confirms  in  a  most  strik- 
ing manner  the  result  of  Dumas,  based  on  the  weight  of  oxj^gen  which 
water  contains,  and  in  connection  with  his  results  furnishes  a  com 
plete  analysis  of  water,  with  a  degree  of  accuracy  as  great  as  can  be 
expected,  or  as  has  ever  been  obtained,  in  any  analytical  work. 

Complete  Analysis  of  Water. 

Percentage  of  Oxygen  after  Dumas 88.864  ±0.0044 

Percentage  of  Hydrogen  according  to  the  present  work  11. 140  ±0.0011 

100.004±0.0045 

It  must  be  remembered  that  in  Dumas's  investigation  the  oxygen 
alone  was  weighed,  while  in  the  present  investigation  the  hydrogen 
alone  was  weighed,  and  the  fact  that  these  two  wholly  independent 
analvtical  results  made  under  such  widely  different  circumstances 
exactly  supplement  each  other  within  the  limits  of  probable  error,  is 
an  evidence  of  accuracy  and  a  proof  of  finality  which  is  irresistible. 

It  would  have  been  highly  desirable,  if  it  had  been  possible,  to  deter- 
mine both  the  oxygen  and  the  hydrogen  in  one  and  the  same  analytical 
process,  as  the  writer  succeeded  in  doing  in  the  case  of  silver,  bromine, 
and  antimony,  and  he  made  many  experiments  on  the  reduction  of 
oxide  of  silver  by  hydrogen  with  this  view.  He  succeeded  in  pre- 
paring pure  oxide  of  silver,  of  definite  composition,  but  the  investi- 
gation was  interrupted  by  the  failure  of  his  sight  before  he  was  able 
to  overcome  the  grave  experimental  difficulties  which  he  process 
presented.  In  view,  however,  of  the  present  results,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  any  advantage  would  have  been  gained  by  that  mode  of 


176  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

experimenting,  for  no  more  certain  confirmation  could  have  been 
reached  than  that  furnished  by  a  comparison  of  Dumas's  results  with 
those  of  this  paper. 


Since  this  investigation  was  essentially  finished,  and  the  results  com- 
municated to  the  American  Academy  at  their  meeting  of  June  15, 
1887,  we  have  received  from  the  author  a  "  Sonderabdruck  "  from  the 
"  Berichte  der  Deutschen  Chemischen  Gesellschaft,"  dated  the  26th  of 
July  following,  and  entitled  :  "  E.  H.  Keiser :  Ueber  die  Verbrennung 
abgewogener  Mengen  von  Wasserstoff  und  iiber  das  Atomgewicht  des 
Sauerstoffs."  In  this  paper  Mr.  Keiser  distinctly  recognizes  the  im- 
portance of  directly  weighing  the  hydrogen  in  the  determination  of 
the  atomic  weight  of  oxygen,  and  quotes  the  remarks  of  Dumas  given 
above.  He  has  also  devised  a  very  ingenious  method  of  weighing 
hydrogen  when  occluded  by  palladium ;  but  the  preliminary  results 
he  publishes  are  far  from  haviug  the  degree  of  accuracy  required,  and 
lead  us  to  infer  that,  like  our  own  preliminary  results,  they  must  be 
vitiated  by  varying  impurities  in  the  hydrogen  ga3  used.  The  three 
determinations  whose  results  he  publishes  gave  for  the  atomic  weight 
of  oxygen  respectively  15.873,  15.897,  and  15.826. 

We  are  sorry  if  Mr.  Keiser  has  entered-  on  somewhat  the  same  field 
which  we  have  so  long  occupied  without  knowledge  of  our  work. 
But,  as  above  stated,  our  investigation  was  begun  more  than  five 
years  ago ;  and  the  methods  employed  have  been  freely  explained  to 
the  many  chemists,  both  American  and  European,  who  have  visited 
Cambridge  during  the  interval.  We  earnestly  hope  that  Mr.  Keiser 
will  carry  out  his  investigation  ;  for  so  important  a  constant  as  the 
atomic  weight  of  oxygen  cannot  be  too  often  verified. 

J.  P.  C.     Cambridge,  December  15,  1887. 


OP  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  177 


XL 


CONTRIBUTIONS  FROM  THE  CHEMICAL  LABORATORY  OF 
HARVARD   COLLEGE.  — J.  F.  Cooke,  Director. 

FURTHER  INVESTIGATION  ON  THE  ATOMIC  WEIGHT 

OF   COPPER. 

By  Theodore  William  Richards. 

Presented  by  J.  P.  Cooke,  June  15,  1887. 

In  the  last  volume  of  these  Proceedings  there  appeared  a  description 
of  a  new  determination  of  the  atomic  weight  of  copper,  based  upon 
the  precipitation  of  silver  from  a  neutral  solution  of  argentic  nitrate 
by  pure  metallic  copper.  In  the  course  of  some  further  experiments, 
it  became  necessary  to  ignite  a  portion  of  the  silver  from  determination 
No.  5  of  that  series ;  and  it  was  found  that  two  grams  of  silver  lost 
four  tenths  of  a  milligram  by  this  process.  It  is  thus  evident  that  150° 
is  not  a  temperature  high  enough  to  drive  out  all  the  water  from  the 
silver,  and  hence  the  results  before  given  are  incorrect  by  a  slight 
amount.  In  this  determination  the  weight  of  the  silver  was  3.39035 
grams,  after  drying  at  150°,  hence  its  weight  after  ignition  would  have 
been  3.38975  grams.  The  weight  of  copper  taken  was  .9987  grams, 
therefore  the  corrected  atomic  weight  of  copper  would  be  63.452,  in- 
stead of  63.437. 

Unfortunately,  all  the  silver  formed  in  the  other  determinations  had 
been  employed  in  testing  for  the  presence  of  copper ;  hence  it  was 
impossible  to  determine  whether  the  other  samples  would  lose  water 
on  heating  in  a  similar  manner.  It  seemed,  therefore,  desirable  to 
make  a  new  series,  using  samples  of  pure  copper,  prepared  from  the 
ores  of  different  localities.  Should  the  result  be  the  same  in  each 
instance,  we  should  have  a  very  strong  proof,  not  only  that  the  copper 
used  in  each  case  was  pure,  —  because  the  different  samples  would 
probably  contain  different  impurities, — but  also  that  the  atomic  weight 
of  copper  is  a  perfectly  constant  quantity. 

The  method  used  was  exactly  that  of  the  previous  paper,  although 
more   difficulty  was  found  in   keeping    the    solution   below  zero  for 
vol.  xxm.  (n.  s.  xv.)  12 


178  PROCEEDINGS   OP  THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

twenty-four  hours  than  was  the  case  before,  because  of  the  warmer 
weather.  Several  determinations  had  to  be  rejected  because  the  tem- 
perature rose  above  zero,  and  copper  was  precipitated  with  the  silver. 
Upon  splitting  open  the  fine  crystalline  plates  of  silver  precipitated 
in  these  rejected  experiments,  a  light  green  precipitate  of  basic  cupric 
nitrate  was  found  adhering  to  the  inner  surface,  which  could  not  be 
removed  by  continued  washing  with  cold  water.  The  presence  of  this 
precipitate  explains  the  admixture  of  copper  with  the  silver  precipi- 
tated above  zero,  and  points  at  once  to  the  mechanism  of  the  chemical 
action. 

When  copper  is  placed  in  a  solution  of  argentic  nitrate,  two  reactions 
take  place,  and  the  temperature  regulates  the  predominance  of  one  or 
the  other.  The  chief  reaction  is  the  simple  one  ordinarily  written  ;  it 
alone  is  active  between  0°  and  —5°,  and  it  is  the  chief  one  even  at 
100°.  The  secondary  reaction,  which  is  active  at  100°,  but  which 
entirely  ceases  below  0°,  may  perhaps  be  written  thus,  —  assuming 
that  the  basic  nitrate  has  the  formula  usually  assigued  to  it :  — 

4  AgN03  +  4  Cu  +  3  H20  = 

Cu(N03)2  .  3  Cu(OH)2  +  2  Ag2  +  NO  +  N02. 

Evidently  in  this  reaction  the  copper  precipitates  only  one  half  of 
its  equivalent  of  silver.  It  will  be  remembered  that  an  evolution  of 
nitrous  fumes  was  previously  observed,  when  the  temperature  rose 
above  the  freezing  point. 

The  argentic  nitrate  used  in  the  new  series  was  prepared  as  before, 
except  that  even  greater  precautions  were  taken  to  insure  its  purity, 
by  successive  crystallizations  and  fusions. 

Two  samples  of  copper  were  used,  one  from  Lake  Superior,  the 
other  from  Germany.  For  the  purification  of  the  former,  the  sample 
was  dissolved  in  sulphuric  acid,  with  the  addition  of  nitric  acid ;  the 
solution  was  evaporated  to  dryness,  and  the  solid  heated  over  asbestos 
in  a  porcelain  dish,  until  the  fumes  of  sulphuric  acid  ceased  coming  off. 
The  cupric  sulphate  was  now  dissolved  in  water,  crystallized  twice, 
and  the  diluted  solution  of  the  last  crystals  boiled  and  shaken  with  a 
little  potassic  hydrate  for  three  hours.  The  solution  was  now  filtered, 
and  the  cupric  sulphate  was  crystallized  several  times  from  hot  water. 
Finally,  the  solution  of  the  last  pure  crystals,  strongly  acidified  by  sul- 
phuric and  a  little  nitric  acid,  was  decomposed  by  the  current  of  a 
Bunsen  cell,  and  the  chemically  pure  copper  deposited  on  thick  plati- 
num foil. 

The  second  example  of  copper  was  prepared  from  German  cupric 


OF   ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 


179 


oxide  in  a  similar  manner,  except  that  the  sulphate  was  crystallized  a 
greater  number  of  times.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  mentioned  that, 
of  many  samples  of  German  cupric  oxide  tested,  not  one  was  found 
which  did  not  contain  a  comparatively  large  amount  of  arsenic.  In 
the  case  of  many  samples,  after  several  reductions  with  pure  hydrogen 
and  oxidations,  the  arsenic  will  actually  sublime  off  as  arsenious  oxide ; 
and  a  quantity  of  the  substance  was  collected  in  this  manner. 

The  method  of  cleaning  the  copper  was  similar  to  that  previously 
adopted  ;  it  was  treated  in  succession  with  dilute  potassic  hydrate, 
dilute  sulphuric  acid,  and  a  very  large  amount  of  water,  and  then  dried 
and  reduced  by  pure  hydrogen. 

The  silver  which  was  obtained  by  precipitation  from  the  pure 
argentic  nitrate  was  first  washed  and  dried  at  150°,  and  weighed,  as 
before  ;  and  was  then  heated  to  incipient  redness,  and  weighed  again. 
The  loss  of  weight  by  this  process  varied  with  the  different  samples 
between  three  tenths  of  a  milligram  and  one  milligram.  The  Gooch 
crucible  and  asbestos  mat  subjected  to  the  same  treatment  did  not 
lose  an  appreciable  quantity.  The  results  were  calculated  for  the 
weight  of  silver  both  before  and  after  ignition,  and  it  will  be  noticed 
that  the  first  column  of  results  corresponds  almost  exactly  to  the  re- 
sults given  in  the  previous  paper.  The  silver  was  in  each  case  tested 
for  copper,  and  no  trace  was  found. 

Results. 
German  Copper. 


No.  of 
Experi- 
ment. 

Weight  Cu. 

Weight  of  Silver  formed. 

Cu  :  Ag2  =:  1 :  n. 

Atomic  Weight 
Cu(Ag  =  107.675). 

Before 
Ignition. 

After 
Ignition. 

Before 
Ignition. 

After 
Ignition. 

1 
2 
3 

Grams. 

0.75760 
0.95040 
0.75993 

Grams. 

2.5723 
3.2261 
2.5798 

Grams. 

2.5713 
3.2256 
2.5794 

,     3.3940 
3.3939 
3.3942 

63.426 
63.440 
63.438 

63.450 
63.451 
63.447 

Average,   63.449 
Greatest  variation  =  ±.002.     Probable  error  =  ±.0010. 

180 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Lake  Superior  Copper. 


No.  of 
Experi- 
ment. 

Weight  Cu. 

Weight  Ag  formed. 

Cu  :  Ag2  =:  1 :  m. 

Atomic  Weight 
Cu(Ag=  107.675). 

Before 
Iguitiou. 

After 
Ignition. 

Before 
Ignition. 

After 
Ignition. 

4 

5 

Grams. 

1.02060 
0.90460 

Grams. 

3.4650 
3.0705 

Grams. 

3.4640 
3.0701 

3.3942 
3.3939 

63.432 
63.444 

63.448 
63.452 

Average,   63.450 
Greatest  variation  =  ±.002.      Probable  error  =  ±.0013. 

The  average  of  these  two  series  is  63.450,  with  greatest  variations 
of  +.002  and  — .003,  and  a  probable  error  of  ±.0006.  The  average 
of  the  results  calculated  from  the  weight  of  silver  dried  at  150°  is 
63.436,  while  the  results  published  in  the  preceding  paper  gave 
63.437. 

The  complete  concordance  of  these  results  with  each  other,  and 
with  the  previous  value  above  referred  to,  would  point  strongly  to  the 
following  conclusions. 

First,  that  the  copper  used  in  each  case  was  absolutely  free  from 
metallic  alloy  ;  for  manifestly  the  three  entirely  different  samples  would 
be  likely  to  contain  different  impurities,  or  at  least  different  amounts 
of  the  same  impurity.  The  copper  was  tested  for  sulphur  with  the 
greatest  care  by  solution  in  nitric  acid  and  treatment  with  baric  chlo- 
ride, and  no  trace  of  cloudiness  was  perceptible.  That  the  copper  was 
absolutely  free  from  impurity  is  not  contended  ;  only  that  it  did  not 
contain  a  weighable  amount  of  impurity  in  one  gram,  the  amount 
used  in  each  experiment.  It  is  manifest  that  attempts  to  purify  the 
copper  beyond  this  limit  would  be  labor  thrown  away,  and  would  pro- 
duce no  effect  upon  the  atomic  weight.  For  example,  one  tenth  of  a 
milligram  is  a  very  large  amount  of  foreign  material  to  suppose  exist- 
ing in  a  gram  of  copper  purified  with  such  care  ;  but  this  large  amount 
would  only  change  the  atomic  weight  five  units  in  the  third  decimal 
place,  —  a  quantity  which  is  of  no  consequence  when  the  atomic  weight 
is  in  doubt  three  units  in  the  first  decimal  place. 

Another  and  still  more  positive  conclusion  reached  by  these  results 
is  that  the  atomic  weight  of  copper  is  a  constant  quantity  with  refer- 
ence to  nitric  acid  and  silver.  If  copper  had  a  variable  atomic  weight, 
it  would  surely  appear  in  specimens  taken  from  such  widely  different 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  181 

sources.  This  conclusion  still  remains  in  force,  even  supposing  there 
be  a  constant  error  in  the  process,  for  the  constant  error  must  affect  all 
the  results  equally,  and  could  not  possibly  equalize  unlike  results. 

A  third  conclusion  pointed  out  by  the  determinations  is  that  the 
argentic  nitrate  was  the  normal  compound,  and  quite  pure;  for  it  will 
be  remembered  that  two  entirely  different  samples  had  been  used  in 
the  course  of  the  work. 

There  is  but  one  point  which  remains  to  be  considered,  and  that  is 
the  existence  or  non-existence  of  a  constant  error  in  the  reaction. 
That  this  is  by  far  the  most  important  point  in  the  whole  discussion,  it 
is  unnecessary  to  state.  Whether  there  be  such  a  constant  error, 
future  investigations  may  show  ;  for  the  present,  it  is  sufficient  to  say 
that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  see  where  such  an  error  might  creep  in. 
The  whole  reaction  is  so  simple  and  so  sharp,  that  the  probability  of 
error  is  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  in  every  case  any  possible  cause 
of  error  has  been  guarded  against. 

Professor  Cooke,  under  whose  direction  the  whole  investigation  has 
been  conducted,  suggested  that  similar  experiments  be  made,  using 
argentic  sulphate  instead  of  the  nitrate  ;  but  after  a  large  number  of 
trials  this  was  found  to  be  impracticable :  first,  because  the  solution 
has  a  much  higher  freezing  point  than  that  of  the  nitrate;  and  sec- 
ondly, because  the  solution  was  necessarily  so  dilute,  on  account  of 
the  slight  solubility  of  argentic  sulphate,  that  the  complete  precipita- 
tion of  the  silver  required  a  much  longer  time,  giving  more  opportu- 
nity for  secondary  reactions.  The  silver  was  always  accompanied  by 
a  very  slight  admixture  of  some  basic  cupric  sulphate  ;  and  hence 
this  method,  which,  if  successful,  would  have  been  able  to  throw  much 
light  on  the  question  of  a  constant  error  in  the  previous  results,  had 
to  be  abandoned. 

Cambridge,  December  15,  1887. 


182  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


XII. 

CONTRIBUTIONS  FROM    THE  CHEMICAL    LABORATORY    OF 
HARVARD   COLLEGE.  — J.  P.  Cooke,  Director. 

ADDITIONAL   NOTE   ON   THE    RELATIVE  VALUES  OF 

THE  ATOMIC  WEIGHTS   OF   HYDROGEN 

AND   OXYGEN. 

By  Josiah  Parsons  Cooke  and  Theodore  William  Richards. 

Presented  March  14, 1888. 

The  preceding  paper  on  this  subject  was  already  in  print,  and  a  num- 
ber of  the  extra  copies  had  been  distributed,  when  the  writer  received 
a  letter  from  Lord  Rayleigh  stating  that  he  had  been  engaged  on 
a  similar  work,  and  had  observed  that  the  glass  balloon  used  in  Reg- 
nault's  method  of  weighing  gas  volumes,  when  exhausted,  was  sensibly 
condensed  by  the  pressure  of  the  air.  Obviously,  if  this  were  true,  the 
tare  of  the  balloon  thus  exhausted  would  be  too  large  in  consequence 
of  the  lessened  buoyancy  of  the  atmosphere,  and  hence  the  subse- 
quently observed  weight  of  gas  when  the  balloon  was  filled  would  be 
too  small.  A  shrinkage  amounting  to  a  single  cubic  centimeter  would 
make  a  difference  of  about  1.29  milligrams,  and  Lord  Rayleigh  sug- 
gested that  our  results  might  have  been  influenced  by  a  constant  error 
arising  from  this  source.  As  the  same  balloon  represented  in  Figure  1 
of  the  preceding  paper  had  been  used  in  all  our  determinations,  and  was 
still  in  good  condition,  there  was  no  difficulty  in  determining  the  amount 
of  shrinkage  under  exhaustion,  and  thus  finding  the  correction  which 
ought  to  be  applied  to  the  results  on  this  account.  The  method  we 
used  was  briefly  as  follows. 

The  balloon  was  first  exhausted,  and  then  completely  filled  with 
boiled  distilled  water  at  an  observed  temperature.  The  weight  of  this 
water  having  been  taken,  and  the  internal  volume  of  the  balloon  thus 
determined,  a  small  portion  of  the  water  — 190  cubic  centimeters  — 
was  run  out,  and  the  volume  estimated  both  by  direct  measurement 
and  also  by  reweighing  the  balloon.  With  these  data  we  could 
readily  calculate  the  volume  of  air  left  in  the  balloon  for  any  given 
temperature,  and  the  small  amount  of  water  lost  by  evaporation  in  the 


OP  ARTS    AND   SCIENCES.  183 

subsequent  exhaustion  produced  no  sensible  effect  on  the  result,  as  a 
knowledge  of  the  volume  within  five  cubic  centimeters  was  all  that  the 
present  problem  required,  and  the  water  did  not  lose  in  weight  more 
thau  two  grams  during  the  whole  series  of  experiments. 

The  balloon  was  now  thoroughly  exhausted,  allowed  to  stand,  and 
again  exhausted  several  times,  until  a  vacuum  gauge  connected  with 
it  remained  constant  over  night,  and  indicated  the  calculated  tension 
of  aqueous  vapor,  which  showed  that  all  the  air  —  dissolved  or  other- 
wise —  had  been  practically  removed. 

A  sufficient  mass  of  water  was  left  in  the  balloon  to  sink  it  under 
water,  and  thus  immersed  in  a  large  vessel  filled  with  distilled  water, 
(which  had  been  boiled  and  allowed  to  cool,)  it  was  now  suspended 
from  the  beam  of  the  balance  used  throughout  this  investigation.  No 
air  bubbles  formed  on  the  glass,  and  care  was  taken  to  remove  all 
entangled  air  from  the  connecting  tubes.  The  weight  soon  became 
constant,  and  the  tare  could  be  accurately  determined  within  a  centi- 
gram. The  connecting  tubes  of  the  balloon  were  next  lifted  above  the 
surface  of  the  water,  and,  after  carefully  drying  the  inlet,  the  outside 
air  was  admitted,  and  the  temperature  of  the  water  in  the  tank  and 
the  height  of  the  barometer  observed.  On  again  immersing  the  bal- 
loon there  was  a  large  loss  of  weight,  —  about  1.4  grams,  —  over  six 
times  the  weight  of  air  admitted,  —  only  about  0.2  gram.  There  had 
evidently  been  a  marked  shrinkage  under  exhaustion  amounting  to 
about  1.6  cubic  centimeters.  This  decrease  of  weight  was  noted  after 
the  equilibrium  had  become  constant,  usually  in  about  five  minutes. 

It  is  probable  that  the  admitted  air  was  saturated  with  moisture, 
and  the  calculation  is  based  upon  that  assumption ;  but  this  would 
make  no  practical  difference  in  the  weight  so  far  as  the  problem  before 
us  is  concerned.     Appended  is  an  example  of  the  method. 

Series  I.    Determination  2. 

Tare  of  globe  exhausted  =  198.22  grm.     T°  =  17°.30. 
«      filled  =  196.83    "        T°  =  17°.30. 


Observed  loss  of  weight  ==      1.39    " 

Atmospheric  pressure        =  75.86  c.  m. 
Tension  of  aqueous  vapor  =     1.46    " 

Difference  =  74.40    " 


184 


PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE    AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


Weight  of  188  c.  c.  moist  air  at  17°.3  and  74.4  cm. 
Observed  loss  of  weight  of  globe 


=    .22  grm. 
=  1.39    " 


Water  displaced  by  difference  of  volume  =  1.61     " 

Diff.  of  volume  corresponding  to  74.4  cm.  pressure  =  1.61  c.  c. 
"  "  76.8  cm*     "         =1.66c.c. 

Weight  of  1.66  c.  c.  of  air  at  76  cm.  and  22°  C*  =  1.98  mg. 

Below  are  given  the  data  of  the  two  series  of  determinations  which 
were  made. 


Number. 
1. 

2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 


Loss  of  Weight. 
Grams. 

1.34 
1.39 
1.39 
1.37 
1.39 


Series   I. 

Atmospheric  Pressure. 
Centimeters. 

76.40 
75.86 
75.80 
75.78 
75.75 


Temperature. 
°C. 

18.10 
17.30 
17.32 
17.40 
17.45 


Correction. 

Milligrams. 

1.92 
1.98 
1.98 
1.96 
1.99 


1.97 

Series 

II. 

6. 

1.38 

75.60 

14.50 

1.98 

7. 

1.39 

75.60 

14.50 

2.00 

8. 

1.39 

75.58 

14.60 

1.99 

9. 

1.40 

75.58 

14.61 

2.01 

10. 

1.39 

75.58 

14.65 

1.99 

1.99 


Total  average,  1.98  milligrams. 


The  quantity  1.98  milligrams  is  then  the  correction  sought,  and 
this  closely  agrees  with  Lord  Rayleigh's  estimate  of  the  value  in  the 
letter  above  referred  to.  Since  in  the  work  described  in  the  preceding 
paper  all  the  data  required  for  the  calculation  were  not  recorded  in 
every  case,  it  will  be  impossible  to  apply  this  correction  to  each  deter- 
mination separately.  But  no  sensible  error  can  result  if  we  add  the 
correction  to  the  average  apparent  weight  of  the  hydrogen,  easily  cal- 
culated from  the  data  given  in  the  table  on  page  173. 


*  22°C.  and  76  cm.  pressure  were  the  average  atmospheric  conditions  at  the 
times  of  weighing  the  globe  in  the  previous  determinations,  and  76.8  cm.  was 
the  average  difference  of  the  pressure  on  the  globe  when  exhausted  and  full  of 
hydrogen. 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  185 

The  total  weight  of  the  hydrogen  burnt  in  the  sixteen  determina- 
tions as  observed  was  6.7029  grams.  Add  to  this  sixteen  times  the 
correction,  or  16  X  0.00138  =  0.0317,  and  we  obtain  6.7346  grams 
for  the  corrected  weight.  The  total  weight  of  the  water  formed  was 
60.1687  grams.  Hence  we  find  by  difference  for  the  total  weight  of 
oxygen  consumed  in  the  combustions  53.4341  grams ;  and  the  cor- 
rected atomic  weight  of  oxygen  is  2(53.4341  -f-  6.7346)  =  15.869. 

The  probable  error  of  this  result  is  no  greater  than  that  of  the 
"Total  average"  given  on  page  173;  for  the  value  of  the  constant 
correction  must  be  certainly  known  within  the  one  fiftieth  of  a  milli- 
gram. It  is  true  that  there  are  several  variable  elements  which  enter 
into  the  determination  of  this  value,  but  they  can  all  be  estimated 
with  far  greater  accuracy  than  the  conditions  of  our  problem  require. 
We  may  therefore  write  as  the  present  result  of  our  work,  H  :  O  = 
1.000  :  15.869. 

Atomic  weight  of  oxygen,  15.869  ±  0.0017. 

If  we  compare  this  result  with  that  of  Dumas,  as  before,  on  page 
175,  we  have  for  the  complete  analysis  of  water, — 

Percentage  of  oxygen  after  Dumas  ....     88.864  ±  0.0044 
Percentage  of  hydrogen  after  final  result  .     .     11.193  ±  0.0011 

100.057 

It  would  now  appear  that  the  close  agreement  before  shown  was  a 
mere  coincidence,  and  that  there  must  have  been  a  small  constant  error 
either  in  our  own  process  or  in  that  of  Dumas.  Where  the  error  lies 
further  investigation  can  alone  determine ;  for  although,  after  a  careful 
revision  of  our  work,  we  can  discover  no  flaw,  no  one  can  be  confident 
that  such  a  constant  error  as  has  already  appeared  may  not  hereafter 
be  found,  —  and  certainty  can  only  be  secured  after  repeated  confirma- 
tions by  essentially  different  methods.  While,  therefore,  we  feel  bound 
to  acknowledge  without  delay  the  cause  of  constant  error  which  Lord 
Rayleigh  has  pointed  out,  we  give  our  corrected  result  as  subject  to 
further  revision.  It  has  been  suggested  by  Lord  Rayleigh,  in  a  "  Pre- 
liminary Notice "  of  his  work  on  the  relative  densities  of  hydrogen 
and  oxygen,  of  which  advance  sheets  have  been  received  while  writ- 
ing this  note,  that  in  our  combustions  the  hydrogen  may  have  been 
imperfectly  burnt,  especially  as  towards  the  last  of  the  combustion  it 
must  have  been  greatly  diluted  (but  with  air).  We  have  no  decisive 
evidence  on  this  point ;  but  the  whole  course  of  our  combustions  as- 


186  PROCEEDINGS   OP  THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

sured  us  that  this  could  not  be  the  case.  During  the  first  stage  of  the 
combustion,  when  pure  hydrogen  was  passing  into  the  combustion 
tube,  and  while  water  was  dropping  into  the  condenser  (Figure  4, 
page  163),  there  would  often  be  several  minutes  —  during  which  the 
larger  part  of  the  water  was  condensed  —  when  no  residual  gas  what- 
ever would  be  seen  to  escape,  and  the  bubbling  of  the  gas  through 
the  sulphuric  acid  at  the  bend  of  the  U  tube  made  the  least  overflow 
perfectly  evident.  Again,  the  oxide  of  copper  in  the  combustion  tube 
was  always  reduced  to  a  perfectly  definite  limit,  leaving  at  least  seven 
eighths  of  the  tube  in  which  the  black  oxide  was  apparently  wholly 
unchanged.  Further,  it  is  not  probable  that  an  error  arising  from  the 
imperfect  combustion  of  the  hydrogen  would  have  a  constant  value. 
The  unconsumed  residue  must  vary  greatly  with  the  conditions  of  the 
experiment ;  and  such  an  agreement  as  that  exhibited  by  the  results  on 
page  173  could  never  have  been  obtained  under  such  circumstances. 

It  seems  unnecessary  to  add,  that  every  precaution  was  taken  in  our 
work  which  our  experience  could  suggest,  and  that  a  great  amount  of 
labor  was  spent  on  such  details  which  does  not  appear  in  the  published 
results.  Both  the  balances  and  weights  employed  were  most  carefully 
verified.  The  water  formed  by  the  combustion  was  tested,  and  the 
dissolved  air  taken  into  account.  We  mention  these  points  because 
they  have  been  noticed  by  correspondents  ;  but  many  similar  details 
which  were  worked  out  and  set  one  side  we  have  not  thought  it  ne- 
cessary to  describe  in  our  paper.  In  writing  such  a  paper  elementary 
principles  must  be  assumed. 

In  adopting  Regnault's  method  for  weighing  the  hydrogen  used  in 
our  determinations,  we  assumed  with  him  that  the  glass  balloon  used 
in  the  work  remained  practically  constant,  whether  exhausted  or  filled 
with  gas.  We  never  questioned  this  assumption,  not  only  because  we 
had  the  greatest  confidence  in  all  Regnault's  work,  but  also  because 
we  knew  that  he  had  himself  carefully  investigated  the  behavior  of 
glass  bulbs  under  pressure ;  and  indeed  he  treats  the  subject  fully  in 
the  paper  immediately  preceeding  his  classical  paper  on  gas  density.* 
Moreover,  we  made  with  our  apparatus  a  preliminary  determination 
of  the  density  of  air,  and  obtained  Regnault's  number  within  the 
limits  of  the  uncertainty  in  regard  to  the  value  of  the  force  of  gravity 
at  this  place.  Regnault's  values  for  the  weight  of  one  litre,  not  only  of 
air,  but  also  of  nitrogen,  oxygen,  hydrogen,  and  carbonic  dioxide,  have 


*  Memo-ires  de  1'Acad.   Hoy.  des  Sciences  de  l'lnst.   de  France,  vol.  xxi. 
pp.  106  and  121. 


OP  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  187 

been  hitherto  regarded  as  among  the  most  trustworthy  data  of  science. 
His  determinations  were  all  made  by  the  method  of  counterpoise  which 
we  adopted  in  our  work,  and  he  used  balloons  of  twice  the  volume  of 
those  we  employed.  When  exhausted,  the  glass  must  have  been  con- 
densed to  an  even  greater  extent  than  has  been  shown  above  ;  but  no 
account  whatever  is  taken  of  this  shrinkage.  As  Regnault's  constants 
have  been  universally  used,  it  is  obvious  that  Lord  Rayleigh's  correc- 
tion must  be  applied  to  all  determinations  of  gas  or  vapor  densities 
hitherto  made,  and  to  all  atomic  weight  determinations  of  any  kind 
which  involve  the  calculation  of  the  weight  of  a  measured  volume  of 
any  gas  or  vapor.  Except,  however,  in  the  case  of  hydrogen,  the  cor- 
rection will  be  inconsiderable. 

J.  P.  C.     Cambridge,  March  15,  1888. 


188  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


XIII. 

CONTRIBUTIONS    FROM  THE   CHEMICAL  LABORATORY  OP 

HARVARD   COLLEGE. 

ON   SUBSTITUTED   PYROMUCIC  ACIDS. 

SECOND  PAPER. 

By  Henry  B.  Hill  and  Arthur  W.  Palmer. 

Presented  March  14, 1888. 

ON   SULPHOPYROMUCIC  ACIDS* 

Pyromucic  acid  shows  in  many  of  its  reactions  so  close  an  analogy 
to  benzoic  acid  that  a  study  of  its  behavior  toward  concentrated  sul- 
phuric acid  could  hardly  fail  to  yield  interesting  results.  In  1860 
Schwanert  t  prepared  a  sulphopyromucic  acid  by  distilling  sulphuric 
anhydride  slowly  over  powdered  pyromucic  acid.  The  barium  salt 
was  said  to  be  not  distinctly  crystalline,  and  its  composition  was  es- 
tablished by  a  single  determination  of  barium  in  the  salt  dried  at  150°. 
With  the  exception  of  the  brief  notice  by  Schwanert,  we  have  been 
able  to  find  no  mention  of  furfuran  derivatives  containing  the  sulpho- 
group.  We  have  found  that  a  sulphopyromucic  acid  is  formed  with- 
out difficulty  when  pyromucic  acid  is  dissolved  in  fuming  sulphuric 
acid,  and  that  a  second  sulphonic  acid  may  readily  be  made  by  indirect 
methods.  We  have  also  prepared  and  studied  several  derivatives  of 
these  sulphonic  acids  containing  bromine,  and  have  succeeded  in  estab- 
lishing the  constitution  of  these  various  products. 

8-Sulphopyromucic  Acid. 

If  dry  pyromucic  acid  is  slowly  added  to  fuming  sulphuric  acid  (Sp. 
Gr.l.95),it  dissolves  without  serious  discoloration,  and  in  a   short 


*  A  part  of  the  work  described  in  the  following  paper  was  presented  in  the 
form  of  a  thesis  to  the  Academic  Council  of  Harvard  University  in  May,  1886, 
by  Arthur  W.  Palmer,  then  candidate  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Science. 

t  Annalen  d.  Chem.  u.  Pharm.,  cxvi.  268. 


OP  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  189 

time  the  formation  of  the  sulphonic  acid  is  complete.  We  have  usually 
taken  three  parts  of  sulphuric  acid  to  one  of  pyromucic,  and  have 
allowed  the  viscous  solution  to  stand  for  twenty-four  hours  before 
diluting  and  neutralizing  with  baric  carbonate.  The  aqueous  solution 
filtered  from  the  baric  sulphate  and  concentrated  by  evaporation  de- 
posits on  cooling  globular  aggregations  of  minute  crystals,  which  are 
readily  purified  by  recrystallization  from  hot  water.  The  acid  pre- 
pared by  exact  precipitation  with  sulphuric  acid  is  extremely  soluble 
in  water,  but  may  be  obtained  by  concentration  in  large  transparent 
prisms  which  deliquesce  in  moist  air. 

Baric  b-Sulphojyyromucate,  BaC-H2SO0  .  4  H20.  —  This  salt  crys- 
tallizes in  thin  flat  prisms,  which  are  usually  closely  aggregated  in 
hemispherical  masses.  It  is  readily  soluble  in  hot  water,  more  spar- 
ingly soluble  in  cold  water,  and  its  aqueous  solution  is  precipitated  by 
the  addition  of  alcohol.  When  dried  by  exposure  to  the  air  it  contains 
four  molecules  of  water,  a  part  of  which  it  slowly  loses  over  sulphuric 
acid  or  at  100°,  the  rest  at  160°. 

I.  2.1205  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  162°,  0.3827  grin.  H20. 
II.  2.5754  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  160°,  0.4605  grm.  H„0. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

BaC5H„SOG  .  4  H,0. 

I.                      II. 

18.02 

18.05         17.88 

H20 

I.    0.7695  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  160°  gave  0.5480  grm.  BaS04. 
II.    0.7010  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  160°  gave  0.4990  grm.  BaS04. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

BaC0II2S00. 

I.                    II. 

41.90 

41.87         41.85 

Ba 

The  solubility  of  the  salt  in  cold  water  we  have  determined  accord- 
ing to  the  method  of  V.  Meyer. 

I.  15.1350  grm.  of  a  solution  saturated  at  21°  gave  0.3672  grm. 

BaSOr 
II.  13.9856  grm.  of  a  solution  saturated  at  21°  gave  0.3384  grm. 
BaS04. 

The  aqueous  solution  saturated  at  21°  therefore  contained  the  fol- 
lowing percentages  of  the  anhydrous  salt :  — 

I.  ii 

3.40  3.39 


190       PROCEEDINGS  OP  THE  AMERICAN  ACADEMY 

Acid  Baric  §-Sulphopyromucate,  Ba(C5H3S06)„ .  4  H20  and  6  H20. — 
Although  this  salt  may  be  formed  by  the  action  of  hydrochloric  acid 
upon  the  neutral  salt,  its  ready  solubility  in  cold  water  makes  it  more 
conveniently  prepared  from  equivalent  quantities  of  the  free  acid  and 
the  neutral  salt.  On  cooling  the  concentrated  solution,  the  salt  sepa- 
rates in  long  slender  prisms  containing  six  molecules  of  water.  From 
more  dilute  solutions,  when  crystallization  begins  at  ordinary  tempera- 
tures, the  salt  separates  in  well-formed  rhombic  plates  which  contain 
four  molecules  of  water.  Not  unfrequently  both  forms  appear  to- 
gether, and  we  have  not  been  able  to  determine  with  precision  the 
conditions  essential  to  the  formation  of  either.  The  long  slender 
prisms  effloresce  slowly  when  exposed  to  the  air.  When  dried  by 
pressure  and  by  short  exposure  to  the  air,  it  gave  the  following 
results :  — 

I.  0.6298  grm.  of  the  salt  lost,  at  100°,  0.1056  grm.  H20. 
II.  1.7845  grm.  of  the  salt  lost,  at  120°,  0.3055  grm.  H20. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

Ba(CsH3S0c)2.6H20  I.  II. 

H20  17.22  16.77         17.12 

I.  0.5242  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  100°  gave  0.2361  grm.  BaS04. 

IL  0.7035  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  120°  gave  0.3155  grm.  BaS04. 

III.  0.7629  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  120°  gave  0.3420  grm.  BaS04. 


Calculated  for 

Found 

Ba(C5H3S06)2. 

i. 

II. 

III. 

26.39 

26.48 

26.36 

26.35 

Ba 

The  rhombic  plates  did  not  lose  in  weight  when  exposed  to  the  air, 
and  but  slowly  over  sulphuric  acid.  The  air-dried  salt  gave  the 
following  results :  — 

I.  4.3735  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  105°,  0.5235  grm.  H20. 

II.  1.4496  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  105°,  0.1762  grm.  H20. 

III.  1.6332  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  135°,  0.2010  grm.  H20. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

Ba(C5H3SOG)2  .  4H20. 

i. 

II. 

in. 

12.18 

11.97 

12.16 

12.31 

H20 

I.  0.6969  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  105°  gave  0.3125  grm.  BaS04. 

II.  0.6325  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  140°  gave  0.2825  grm.  BaS04. 

III.  0.5982  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  140°  gave  0.2682  grm.  BaS04. 


Ba 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

Ba(Cr>H3S06)2. 

i. 

II. 

in. 

26.39 

26.36 

26.26 

26.36 

OF  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  191 

Calcic  b-Sulphopyromucatc,  CaC5H2SOc .  3  H„0.  —  This  salt  is  quite 
soluble  in  cold  water,  and  crystallizes  in  flat  concentrically  grouped 
prisms,  which  slowly  effloresce  over  sulphuric  acid. 

0.7413  grm.  of  the  salt  lost,  at  130°,  0.1364  grm.  H20. 

Calculated  for 
CaC0H2S06.3H20.  Found. 

H20  19.01  18.40 

I.  0.5737  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  125°  gave  0.3383  grm.  CaS04. 
II.  0.6405  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  125°  gave  0.3770  grm.  CaS04. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

CaC5H2S0G. 

I.                       II. 

17.40 

17.34         17.31 

Ca 

Plumbic  b-Sulphopyromacate,  PbC5H2S06  .  2  H20.  —  This  salt  is 
readily  soluble  in  hot  water,  more  sparingly  in  cold,  and  crystallizes 
in  clustered  needles.  The  air-dried  salt  contained  two  molecules  of 
water. 

2.1320  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost  at  105°  0.1805  grm.  H20. 

Calculated  for 
PbC0H2SOc  .  2  H20.  Found. 

H20  8.31  8.47 

I.  0.6682  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  110°  gave  0.5085  grm.  PbS04. 
II.  0.5046  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  110°  gave  0.3837  grm.  PbS04. 
III.  1.0150  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  110°  gave  0.5570  grm.  C02  and 
0.0660  grm.  H20. 


Pb 

Calculated  for 
PbC,II,S0s. 

52.i4 

i. 
51.99 

Found. 
II. 

51.96 

in. 

c 

15.16 

14.97 

H 

0.50 

0.72 

Argentic  h-Sulphopyromucate,  Ag2C,H2S06'  —  The  silver  salt  is 
sparingly  soluble  in  cold  water,  somewhat  more  readily  soluble  in  hot 
water,  and  crystallizes  in  short  thick  prisms.  The  air-dried  salt  lost 
slightly  in  weight  when  heated  at  120°,  but  the  loss  was  insignificant. 

I.  0.6788  grm.  of  the  salt  gave  0.4779  grm.  AgCl  and  0.3923  grm. 

BaS04. 
II.  0.5255  grm.  of  the  salt  gave  0.3703  grm.  AgCl  and  0.3028  grm. 
BaS04. 


192  PROCEEDINGS    OP    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

Ag2C6H,S06 

I.                            II. 

Ag 

53.21 

53.01             53.04 

S03 

19.97 

19.85             19.78 

Potassic  8-Su!phopyromucate,  K2C5H2SO0  .  4  H20.  The  potassium 
salt  is  extremely  soluble  even  in  cold  water,  and  crystallizes  in  long 
slender  prisms,  which  apparently  contain  four  molecules  of  water. 
They  effloresce  quite  rapidly  when  exposed  to  the  air,  and  our  deter- 
minations of  the  water  of  crystallization  are,  therefore,  not  entirely 
satisfactory. 

I.  2.4108  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  by  short  exposure  to  the  air  lost,  at 
135",  0.4966  grm.  H20. 
II.  0.9701  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  by  pressure  only  lost,  at  100°,  0.2074 

grm.  HoO. 
III.  1.3420  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  by  short  exposure  to  the  air  lost,  at 
115°,  0.2775  grm.  H20. 


H,0 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

K2CBH2SO„  .  4  H20. 

I. 

II. 

in. 

21.15 

20.60 

21.38 

20.68 

r 


I.  0.5573  grm.  of  the  anhydrous  salt  gave  0.3608  grm.  K2SO 
II.  0.5035  grm.  of  the  anhydrous  salt  gave  0.3242  grm.  K„S04. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

K2C5H„S06.  I.  II- 

K  29.16  29.07  28.91 

Acid  Potassic  8-Sulphopyromiicate,  KC5H3SOc.  —  The  acid  potas- 
sium salt  is  very  soluble  in  water,  and  crystallizes  in  large  anhydrous 
prisms. 

I.  0.8655  grm.  of  the  salt  gave  0.3253  grm.  K2S04. 

II.  0.8290  grm.  of  the  salt  gave  0.3127  grm.  K2S04. 

III.  0.7694  grm.  of  the  salt  gave  0.2879  grm.  K2S04. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

KC5H3SO0. 

i. 

II. 

in. 

16.99 

16.89 

16.93 

16.81 

K 

Sodic  8-Sulphopyromucate,  Na2C5H2SO0  .  5  H20.  —  The  neutral 
sodium  salt  is  extremely  soluble  in  water,  and  crystallizes  in  long 
slender  needles,  which  appear  to  contain  five  molecules  of  water. 
The  same  salt  is  obtained  in  the  form  of  fine  felted  needles  by  crys- 
tallization from  dilute  alcohol. 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  193 

I.  1.5082  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  by  short  exposure  to  the  air  lost,  at 
110°,  0.3970  grm.  HaO. 
II.  1.4198  grm.  of  the  salt  recrystallized  from  dilute  alcohol  and  dried 

by  short  exposure  to  the  air  lost,  at  135°,  0.3773  grm.  H20. 
III.  1.0232  grm.  of  the  salt  recrystallized  from  dilute  alcohol  and  dried 
by  pressure  only  lost,  at  135°,  0.2785  grm.  H20. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

Na2C6H2S06.5H,0. 

i. 

II. 

in. 

H20 

27.61 

26.32 

26.57 

27.22 

I.  0.5195  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  110°  gave  0.3115  grm.  Na2S04. 
II.  0.5592  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  110°  gave  0.3357  grm.  Na2S04. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

Na2C0H2SO6. 

I.                            II. 

19.49 

19.43             19.45 

Na 

Acid  Sodic  8-SuIpkopyromiicate,  NaC5H3SOc  .  H00.  —  This  salt  crys- 
tallizes in  long  slender  prisms,  which  do  not  lose  in  weight  when 
exposed  to  the  air  or  over  sulphuric  acid. 

I.  2.1303  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  110°,  0.1658  grm.  H20. 

Calculated  for 
NaC6H3S06  .  H20.  Found. 

H20  7.76  7.78 

I.  1.0224  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  110°  gave  0.3371  grm.  Na2S04. 

II.  0.9498  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  110°  gave  0.3154  grm.  Na2S04. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

NaC6H3S06. 

I.                            II. 

10.75 

10.69             10.76 

Na 

h-Sidphopyromucamide,  C5H2S04(NH2)2.  —  By  acting  upon  the  dry 
sodium  salt  of  S-sulphopyromucic  acid  with  phosphoric  pentachloride, 
and  expelling  at  a  gentle  heat  the  greater  part  of  the  phosphoric  oxy- 
chloride  formed  in  the  reaction,  a  viscous  oil  was  obtained  which  did 
not  invite  further  investigation.  It  was,  therefore,  at  once  converted 
into  the  corresponding  amide  by  the  action  of  concentrated  ammonic 
hydrate.  The  product  of  the  reaction,  after  recrystallization  from 
boiling  water,  formed  long  flat  prisms  readily  soluble  in  hot  water, 
sparingly  soluble  in  cold  water,  which  melted  at  213°. 

I.  0.3441  grm.  of  substance  gave  47.2  c.c.  moist  nitrogen  at  27°  and 
under  a  pressure  of  763  mm. 
II.  0.2025  grm.  of  substance  gave  0.2507  grm.  BaS04. 

VOL.  XXIII.  (n.  S.  XV.)  13 


194  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

Calculated  for  Found. 

C6H2S04(NH2)2.  I.  II. 

N  14.73  15.18 

S  16.84  17.00 

Action  of  Bromine. 

At  ordinary  temperatures  dry  bromine  has  little  or  no  action  upon 
dry  S-sulphopyromucic  acid.  At  100°  in  sealed  tube  a  complicated 
reaction  ensues,  which  we  have  not  yet  fully  investigated.  Ordinary 
dibromsuccinic  acid  is  formed  in  considerable  quantity,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  small  amount  of  mucobromylbromide,  as  was  shown  by 
the  blue  color  developed  in  alkaline  solution,  and  by  the  formation  of 
mucobromic  acid  melting  at  120-121°  on  heating  with  water.  There 
was  also  formed  in  small  quantity  a  beautifully  crystalline  substance, 
sparingly  soluble  even  in  boiling  alcohol,  which  contained  sulphur,  but 
no  bromine.  This  substance  we  unfortunately  have  not  yet  succeeded 
in  obtaining  in  quantity  sufficient  for  further  study. 

In  aqueous  solution  bromine  rapidly  oxidizes  S-sulphopyromucic 
acid,  even  in  the  cold.  The  final  product  of  the  reaction  is  fumaric 
acid,  and  we  have  hitherto  been  unable  to  isolate  any  intermediate 
products.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  maleic  acid  is  in  fact  the  first 
product  of  the  oxidation.  If  bromine  be  added  to  an  aqueous  solution 
of  the  barium  salt  of  the  acid,  baric  sulphate  is  immediately  thrown 
down ;  but  since  the  amount  of  baric  sulphate  thus  formed  is  slightly 
less  than  the  theoretical  quantity,  secondary  products  containing  sul- 
phur are  doubtless  formed.  In  the  complete  oxidation  of  the  acid  we 
have  used  a  slight  excess  of  bromine,  aud  have  finished  the  reaction 
by  gentle  heat.  The  fumaric  acid  obtained  was  identified  by  qualita- 
tive tests,  and  by  the  analysis  of  the  silver  salt. 

I.  0.2124  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  120°  gave  0.2406  grm.  AgBr. 
II.  0.2056  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  120°  gave  0.2332  grm.  AgBr. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

Ag,C4H,04.  I.  n. 

As  65.46  65.07  65.15 


-& 


The  decomposition  with  bromine,  therefore,  takes  place  in  great  part 
according  to  the  equation, 

C5H4S06  +  3  Br2  +  4  H20  =  C4H404  +  C02  +  H2S04  +  6  HBr. 

Action  of  Nitric  Acid. 

The  oxidation  of  S-sulphopyromucic  acid  with  dilute  nitric  acid  takes 
place  but  slowly,  and  even  after  long  boiling  with  moderately  concen- 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  195 

trated  acid  the  decomposition  is  far  from  complete.  After  boiling  for 
some  time  with  acid  of  Sp.  Gr.  1.20,  and  evaporation  upon  the  water- 
bath,  fumaric  acid  was  obtained,  together  with  small  quantities  of  oxalic 
acid.  The  fumaric  acid  was  identified,  as  before,  by  its  physical  prop- 
erties, and  by  an  analysis  of  its  silver  salt. 

0.1508  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  125°  gave  0.1710  grm.  AgBr. 

Calculated  for 
Ag2C4II204.  Found. 

Ag  65.46  65.15 

The  reaction  with  concentrated  nitric  acid  is  much  more  interesting, 
since  the  sulpho-group  is  in  this  way  replaced  by  the  nitro-group  and 
the  8-nitropyromucic  acid  of  Klinkhardt,*  formed  with  comparatively 
little  oxidation.  This  replacement  is  slowly  effected  at  ordinary  tem- 
peratures, but  rapidly  at  100°.  Dry  sulphopyromucic  acid  is  slowly 
added  to  several  times  its  weight  of  cold  fuming  nitric  acid.  The 
mixture  is  at  first  cooled,  and  the  reaction  afterward  completed  by 
gentle  heat.  The  nitric  acid  is  then  partially  removed  by  evaporation, 
and  the  nitropyromucic  acid,  which  separates  as  the  solution  cools,  re- 
crystallized  from  hot  water.  For  its  complete  purification  we  found  it 
necessary  to  dissolve  the  acid  in  a  cold  dilute  solution  of  sodic  carbon- 
ate, to  extract  with  ether  this  alkaline  solution,  and  to  recrystallize 
from  hot  water  the  product  obtained  by  the  addition  of  hydrochloric 
acid.  The  pale  yellow  acid  thus  obtained  crystallized  in  rectangular 
plates,  which  melted  at  182-183°. 

0.4925  grm.  substance  gave  37.9  c.  c.  of  moist  nitrogen  at  16°  and 
under  a  pressure  of  748  mm. 

Calculated  for 

C0H3(N02)03.  Found. 

N  8.91  8.82 

The  ethyl  ether  of  the  acid  was  easily  formed  by  warming  its  alco- 
holic solution  with  concentrated  sulphuric  acid.  It  was  sparingly  sol- 
uble in  cold  alcohol,  and  crystallized  in  broad  lustrous  plates,  which 
melted  at  99-100°.  Klinkhardt  gives  the  melting-point  of  the  acid 
as  183°,  and  of  the  ether  as  101°. 

With  the  S-nitropyromucic  acid  is  formed  in  small  quantity  a  neutral 
substance  containing  nitrogen,  which  was  obtained  by  evaporating  the 
ether  used  in  the  extraction  of  the  alkaline  solution  of  the  crude  nitro- 

*  Journ.  pr.  Chemie  N.  F.,  xxv.  41. 


196  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

pyromucic  acid.  The  same  substance  was  formed  in  somewhat  larger 
quantity  when  we  attempted  to  prepare  nitropyromucic  acid  without 
isolating  the  sulphonic  acid  by  the  addition  of  nitric  acid  to  a  solution 
of  pyromucic  acid  in  fuming  sulphuric  acid.  The  substance  dissolved 
sparingly  in  boiling  water,  and  crystallized  on  cooling  in  clustered 
prisms  which  melted  at  100-101°.  On  warming  with  sodic  hydrate  a 
bright  yellow  color  was  developed.  A  filter  paper  moistened  with  its 
alcoholic  solution  and  exposed  to  the  vapors  of  amnionic  sulphide 
turned  yellow  at  first,  then  salmon-red.  This  behavior  corresponds 
closely  with  that  observed  by  V.  Meyer*  and  Otto  Stadler  in  the  case 
of  nitro  derivatives  of  thiophen.  Although  from  lack  of  material  we 
have  as  yet  made  no  analyses  of  this  substance,  we  shall  describe  later 
a  dibromdinitrofurfuran,f  which  was  obtained  under  similar  conditions 
from  the  /3y-dibrom-8-sulphopyromucic  acid,  whose  formation  leaves 
no  doubt  that  this  substance  is  in  fact  aa-dinitrofurfuran.  It  will  be 
further  studied  in  the  future  in  this  Laboratory. 

Fusing  potassic  hydrate  converts  the  8-sulphopyromucic  acid  into 
succinic  acid,  and  at  the  same  time  more  or  less  oxalic  acid  is  formed. 
Although  we  have  also  made  certain  experiments  concerning  the  action 
of  fusing  sodic  formiate,  we  have  as  yet  reached  no  satisfactory  con- 
clusion, and  must  therefore  postpone  all  consideration  of  our  results 
until  we  have  made  further  investigations. 


o 


/3-Brom-S-Sulphopyromucic  Acid. 

Although  we  have  not  succeeded  in  preparing  substitution  products 
directly  from  S-sulphopyromucic  acid,  they  may  readily  be  made  by 
the  action  of  fuming  sulphuric  acid  upon  substituted  pyromucic  acids. 
If  0-brompyrornucic  acid  is  dissolved  in  three  times  its  weight  of  fum- 
ing sulphuric  acid  (Sp.  Gr.  1.95),  no  carbonization  takes  place  at  or- 
dinary temperatures,  and  from  the  diluted  solution  may  be  isolated  by 
neutralization  with  baric  carbonate  the  barium  salt  of  /?-brom-3-sul- 
phopyromucic  acid.  The  free  acid  is  extremely  soluble  even  in  cold 
water,  and  crystallizes  in  radiating  needles  which  deliquesce  rapidly 
in  moist  air. 

Baric  ft-Brom-8-Sulphopyromucate,  BaC5HBrSO,;  .  4  H20.  —  This 
salt  is  readily  soluble  in  hot  water,  more  sparingly  soluble  in  cold 
water,  and  crystallizes  in  flat  clustered  prisms.  It  is  precipitated  in 
the  form  of  fine  needles  on  the  addition  of  alcohol  to  its  aqueous  solu- 

*  Berichte  d.  deutsch.  chem.  Gesellsch.,  xvii.  2779.  t  Page  205. 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  197 

tion.     The  air-dried  salt  contains  four  molecules  of  water,  most  of 
which  it  loses  over  sulphuric  acid,  the  rest  at  100°. 

I.  1.9130  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  100°,  0.2824  grm.  H20. 
II.   1.1010  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  170°,  0.1630  grm.  H20. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

BaC6HJBrS06  .  4  H20. 

I.                            II. 

15.06 

14.76             14.80 

H20 

I.  0.3030  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  170°  gave  0.1740  grm.  BaS04. 
II.  0.3293  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  170°  gave  0.1886  grm.  BaS04. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

BaC6HBrS06. 

I.                           II. 

33.75 

33.76             33.67 

Ba 

The  solubility  of  the  salt  in  cold  water  we  determined  according  to 
the  method  of  V.  Meyer. 

I.  27.6020  grm.  of  the  solution  saturated  at  21°  gave  0.2300  grm. 

BaS04. 
II.  27.9011  grm.  of  the  solution  saturated  at  21°  gave  0.2369  grm. 
BaS04. 

The  aqueous  solution  saturated  at  21°,  therefore,  contained  the  fol- 
lowing percentages  of  the  anhydrous  salt :  — 

I.  II. 

1.45  1.48 

Calcic  fi-Brom-8-Sidphopyromucate,  CaC5HBrSOti  .  6  H20.  —  The 
calcium  salt  proved  to  be  extremely  soluble  even  in  cold  water.  The 
syrupy  solution  gradually  solidified  with  the  separation  of  long  radi- 
ating needles.  The  air-dried  salt  apparently  contained  six  molecules 
of  water,  five  of  which  it  rapidly  lost  over  sulphuric  acid. 

I.  1.2305  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  135°,  0.3193  grm.  H20. 

II.  0.4444  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave  0.1413  grm.  CaS04. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

CaC6HBrS06  .  6  H,0. 

i.                   n. 

H20 

25.90 

25.95 

Ca 

9.59 

9.35 

0.9631  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  over  sulphuric  acid  lost,  at  135°,  0.0519 
grm.  H20. 

Calculated  for 
CaC5HBrS0„  .  H20.  Found. 

H20  5.51  5.39 


198  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

0.4608  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  135°  gave  0.1973  grm.  CaS04. 

Calculated  for 
CaC6HBrS06.  Found. 

Ca  12.94  12.60 

Plumbic  P-Brom-h-Sulphopyromiicate,  PbC5HBrS06  .  4  H20.  — The 
lead  salt  is  freely  soluble  in  hot  water,  more  sparingly  in  cold  water, 
and  crystallizes  in  flat  clustered  prisms,  or  on  rapid  cooling  in  clus- 
tered needles.  The  air-dried  salt  contains  four  molecules  of  water, 
almost  the  whole  of  which  it  rapidly  loses  over  sulphuric  acid. 

I.  1.3814  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  130°,  0.1758  grm.  H20. 
II.  1.9209  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  140°,  0.2507  grm.  H20. 

III.  0.3442  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave  0.1905  grm.  PbS04. 

IV.  0.6382  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave  0.3530  grm.  PbS04. 

IV. 

37.79 

Potassic  fi-Brom-S-Sulphopyromucate,  K2C5HBrS06  .  \\  H20  (?). — 
This  salt  is  readily  soluble  in  cold  water,  more  sparingly  soluble  in 
dilute  alcohol.  It  crystallizes  in  small  six-sided  plates  which  are 
permanent  in  the  air,  but  which  effloresce  over  sulphuric  acid.  Two 
determinations  of  the  water  of  crystallization  made  in  different  prep- 
arations agree  precisely  with  each  other,  but  do  not  correspond  well 
with  any  simple  formula  for  the  salt. 

I.  0.8184  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  160°,  0.0537  grm.  H20. 
II.  1.4398  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  160°,  0.0942  grm.  H20. 


H20 

Calculated  for 
PbC5HBrS06  .  4  H20. 

13.14 

i. 
12.73 

Found. 
II.                   III. 

13.05 

Pb 

37.78 

37.80 

Calculated  for 

Calculated  for 

Found. 

K2C6HBrS06  .  H20. 

K2C5HBrS00  .  1J  H20. 

I. 

ii. 

H20 

4.93 

7.22 

6.56 

6.55 

0.3652  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  160°  gave  0.1825  grm.  K2S04. 

Calculated  for 

K2C6HBrS06.  Found. 

K  22.52  22.44 

The  connection  between  this  brom-sulphopyromucic  acid  and  the 
8-sulphopyromucic  acid  could  evidently  be  proved  most  neatly  and  di- 
rectly by  eliminating  from  it  the  bromine,  and  examining  carefully  the 
sulphonic  acid  thus  formed.  By  warming  a  strongly  ammoniacal  solu- 
tion of  the  barium  salt  with  zinc  dust  the  bromine  was  quickly  removed. 


OP   ARTS    AND   SCIENCES.  199 

The  filtered  solution  was  boiled  with  a  slight  excess  of  baric  hy- 
drate until  all  the  ammonia  was  expelled  and  the  zinc  precipitated. 
The  solution  was  then  freed  from  the  excess  of  baric  hydrate  by 
means  of  carbonic  dioxide,  and  concentrated  on  the  water-bath.  On 
cooling,  the  solution  deposited  globular  aggregations  of  colorless  crys- 
tals, which  appeared  to  be  identical  with  those  of  baric  S-sulphopyro- 
mucate.  The  identity  was  fully  established  by  analyses  of  the  salt, 
and  by  determinations  of  its  solubility  in  water. 

I.  1.5700  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  165°,  0.2803  grm.  H20. 
II.  0.7309  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave  0.4295  grm.  BaS04. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

BaC5H2S0r>  .  4  H20.  I.  II. 

H20  18.02  17.85 

Ba  34.34  34.55 

0.4947  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  165°  gave  0.3505  grm.  BaS04. 

Calculated  for 
BaC6H2S06.  Found. 

Ba  41.90  41.67 

I.  12.0595  grm.  of  the  solution  saturated  at  21°  gave  0.2985  grm. 
BaS04. 
II.  12.1863  grm.  of  the  solution  saturated  at  21°  gave  0.2989  grm. 
BaS04. 

The  aqueous  solution  saturated  at  21°,  therefore,  contained  the  fol- 
lowing percentages  of  the  anhydrous  salt:  — 

i.  ii. 

3.47  3.44 

These  results  are  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  sulphonic  acid  formed 
by  the  reduction  of  the  /3-brom-S-sulphopyromucic  acid  is  identical  with 
that  obtained  directly  from  pyromucic  acid  by  the  action  of  sulphuric 
acid. 

Action  of  Bromine. 

Bromine  in  aqueous  solution  readily  oxidizes  /3-brom-S-sulphopyro- 
mucic  acid  or  its  salts.  Since  the  relative  position  of  the  bromine  and 
the  sulpho-group  had  already  been  established,  we  thought  it  necessary 
to  do  no  more  than  identify  the  final  product  of  the  oxidation.  Bro- 
mine was  added  in  slight  excess  to  an  aqueous  solution  of  the  barium 
salt,  and  the  reaction  completed  at  a  gentle  heat.  The  strongly  acid 
solution  was  filtered  from  the  baric  sulphate  which  had  been  formed, 


200  PROCEEDINGS    OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

and  extracted  with  ether.  The  ether  left  on  evaporation  a  white 
crystalline  acid,  which  softened  somewhat  at  120°  and  melted  com- 
pletely at  165°.  After  two  recrystallizations  from  water  the  acid 
melted  sharply  at  176-177°,  and  was  therefore  monobromfumaric  acid. 
The  oxidation  took  place  according  to  the  following  equation:  — 

C.H3BrS06  +  3  Br2  +  4  H20  =  C4H3Br04  +  C02  +  H2S04  +  6  HBr. 

Action  of  Nitric  Acid. 

We  have  made  no  experiments  concerning  the  action  of  dilute  nitric 
acid  upon  /3-brom-S-sulphopyromucic  acid,  since  it  could  safely  be  as- 
sumed that  oxidation  would  ensue  as  with  the  8-sulphopyromucic  acid, 
and  that  monobromfumaric  acid  would  be  formed.  It  seemed  to  us, 
however,  of  decided  interest  to  act  upon  the  acid  with  fuming  nitric 
acid,  since  a  bromnitropyromucic  acid  should  then  result.  Dry  /3- 
brom-S-sulphopyromucic  acid  was  slowly  added  to  three  times  its 
weight  of  fuming  nitric  acid.  The  reaction  progressed  slowly  in  the 
cold,  more  rapidly  on  warming,  and  without  any  considerable  oxida- 
tion. After  the  reaction  was  completed,  the  greater  part  of  the  nitric 
acid  was  expelled  by  gentle  heat,  the  crystalline  acid  left  was  dissolved 
in  a  dilute  solution  of  sodic  carbonate,  and  the  alkaline  solution  then 
extracted  with  ether.  Upon  evaporation  of  the  ether  a  small  quan- 
tity of  a  neutral  oil  was  left,  which  gradually  solidified.  The  quantity 
of  the  product  which  we  thus  obtained  was  so  minute  that  further  in- 
vestigation was  out  of  the  question.  The  alkaline  solution  when  acidi- 
fied and  again  extracted  with  ether  yielded  in  abundance  a  crystalline 
acid  which  proved  to  be  /3-brom-S-nitropyromucic  acid.  It  was  readily 
soluble  in  alcohol,  ether,  or  hot  benzol,  more  sparingly  in  cold  benzol. 
It  dissolved  freely  in  hot  water,  and  as  the  solution  cooled  it  was  de- 
posited in  long  clustered  flattened  needles,  which  contained  one  mole- 
cule of  water.  The  anhydrous  acid  melted  at  159-160°.  At  100° 
the  acid  appeared  to  sublime  slowly. 

I.  1.2492  grm.  of  the   acid  crystallized  from    water   lost,  at   60°, 

0.0911  grm.  H20* 
II.  0.9980  grm.   of  the   acid  crystallized   from   water   lost,  at   78°, 
0.0740  grm.  H20. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

C5H2Br(N02)03 .  H20.  I.  II. 

H20  7.09  7.29  7.42 

*  A  slight  mechanical  loss  renders  the  result  of  this  determination  uncertain 
in  the  second  decimal  place. 


Br 

Calculated  for 
C6H2Br(N02)03. 

33.90 

N 

5.93 

OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  201 

I.  0.2065  grm.  of  the  acid  dried  at  100°  gave  0.1652  grm.  AgBr. 
II.  0.2648  grm.  of  the  acid  dried  at  100°  gave  14.2  c.c.  of  moist  nitro- 
gen at  20°  and  under  a  pressure  of  763  mm. 

Found. 
I.  II. 

34.04 

6.15 

This  acid  will  be  further  studied  in  this  Laboratory.  There  can  be 
no  doubt,  however,  that,  like  the  nitropyromucic  acid  of  Kliukhardt,  it 
contains  the  nitro-group  in  the  S  position. 

/3y-DlBROM-$-SrjLPHOPYROMUCIC    ACID. 

/3y-dibrompyromucic  acid  dissolves  in  fuming  sulphuric  acid  without 
the  slightest  carbonization,  and  is  converted  in  a  short  time  into  the 
corresponding  sulphonic  acid.  A  large  part  of  our  work  was  done  with 
material  made  from  pure  /3y-dibrompyromucic  acid.  We  subsequently 
found,  however,  as  will  be  described  more  at  length  later  in  this  paper, 
that  the  /3S-dibrotnpyrornucic  was  but  little  affected  by  fuming  sulphuric 
acid  if  the  action  were  not  too  long  continued,  and  that  the  mixture  of 
the  isomeric  dibrompyromucic  acids  obtained  from  pyromucic  tetrabro- 
mide  could  therefore  advantageously  be  employed  direct.  The  mixed 
acids  were  dissolved  in  once  and  a  half  their  weight  of  fuming  sulphuric 
acid,  and  the  solution  diluted  with  water  after  the  lapse  of  two  or  three 
hours.  The  /3S-dibrompyromucic  acid  thus  precipitated  was  removed 
by  filtration,  and  the  solution  neutralized  as  usual  by  baric  carbonate. 
The  small  amount  of  /3S-dibrompyromucic  acid,  or  its  decomposition 
products,  which  remained  in  solution,  could  readily  be  removed  by  the 
recrystallization  of  the  barium  salt  which  was  obtained  after  evapo- 
ration. Since  the  separation  of  the  isomeric  dibrompyromucic  acids 
is  a  matter  of  some  difficulty,  the  preparation  of  the  sulphonic  acid 
in  question  is  thus  greatly  facilitated.  The  free  acid  is  very  soluble 
even  in  cold  water,  but  is  more  sparingly  soluble  in  ordinary  concen- 
trated sulphuric  acid.  From  sulphuric  acid  it  crystallizes  in  clustered 
needles,  from  water  it  is  deposited  in  broad  flat  prisms,  which  are  per- 
manent under  ordinary  atmospheric  conditions. 

Baric  (Sy-Dibrom-h-Sulphopyromncate,  BaC5Br2SOc .  5  H20.  — This 
6alt  is  very  readily  soluble  in  hot  water,  more  sparingly  in  cold  water. 
The  hot  saturated  solution  solidifies  on  cooling,  with  the  separation  of 
long  silky  radiating  needles.  The  air-dried  salt  contains  five  molecules 
of  water,  a  part  of  which  it  loses  over  sulphuric  acid. 


202  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE    AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

I.  1.5136  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  125°,  0.2422  grra.  H20. 

II.  1.7684  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  160°,  0.2855  grm.  H20. 

III.  2.5118  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  180°,  0.4013  grm.  H20. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

BaC6Br,S06 .  5  H20.  I.  II.  III. 

H20  15  65  16.01         16.14         15.97 

I.  0.5378  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  125°  gave  0.2575  grm.  BaS04. 

II.  0.4688  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  180°  gave  0.2243  grm.  BaS04. 

III.  0.5317  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  180°  gave  0.2550  grm.  BaS04. 


Calculated  for  Found. 

BaC5Br2S06  I.  II.  III. 

Ba  28.25  28.15         28.13         28.19 

The  solubility  of  the  salt  in  cold  water  we  determined  in  the  usual 
way. 

I.  10.9011  grm.  of  the  solution  saturated  at  20°  gave  0.2170  grm. 
BaS04. 
II.  11.9609  grm.  of  the  solution  saturated  at  20°  gave  0.2398  grm. 
BaS04. 

The  solution  saturated  at  20°,  therefore,  contained  the  following 
percentages  of  the  anhydrous  salt:  — 

i.  n. 

4.14  4.17 

When  an  aqueous  solution  of  the  barium  salt  is  evaporated  at  100°, 
small  clear  prisms  separate,  which  contain  less  water  than  the  salt  just 
described.  We  found  it  impossible  to  prepare  this  salt  satisfactorily 
for  analysis,  siuce  it  at  once  took  up  water  in  the  cold.  A  preparation 
which  was  removed  from  the  hot  solution  and  immediately  dried  by 
pressure  with  filter  paper  gave  on  analysis  the  following  results :  — 

I.  1.6161  grm.  of  the  salt  lost,  at  140°,  0.1767  grm.  HaO. 
II.  0.6265  grm.  of  the  salt  gave  0.2665  grm.  BaS04. 


H20 

Calculated  for 
BaC6Br2S06  .  3  H20. 

10.02 

Found. 
I.                            II. 

10.93 

Ba 

25.42 

25.01 

Plumbic  Py-Dibrom-b-Sulphopyromucate,  PbC5Br2S06  .  4  H20.  — 
The  lead  salt  is  readily  soluble  in  hot  water,  more  sparingly  in  cold, 
and  crystallizes  in  fine  felted  needles,  which  are  permanent  in  the  air, 
but  effloresce  over  sulphuric  acid. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

PbCsBrjS06.4H20. 

i. 

II. 

H20 
Pb 

11.48 
33.01 

11.24 

11.16 

OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  203 

I.    1.4993  grin,  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  165°,  0.1686  grin.  H20. 
II.    1.0386  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  165°,  0.1159  grm.  H20. 
III.    0.6246  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave  0.3015  grm.  PbS04. 


in. 


32.98 
0.5019  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  165°  gave  0.2741  grm.  PbS04. 

Calculated  for 

PbC5Br2S06.  Found. 

Pb  37.32  37.32 

Argentic  fiy-Dibrotn-8-Stdphopyromucate,  Ag2C5Br2S06  .  H20.  — 
The  silver  salt  is  sparingly  soluble  in  cold  water,  more  readily  in  hot, 
and  crystallizes  in  large  rhombic  plates. 

1.0216  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  120°,  0.0339  grm.  H20. 

Calculated  for 
Ag205Br2S06  .  H20.  Found. 

H20  3.09  3.31 

I.    0.3016  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  120°  gave  0.1520  grm.  AgCl. 
II.    0.3021  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  120°  gave  0.1522  grm.  AgCl. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

Ag2C5Br2S06.  I.  II. 

Ag  38.30  37.93  37.93 

Potassic  Py-Dibrom-8-Sidphopyromucate,  K.2C5Br2SOG  .  H20.  —  The 
potassium  salt  is  readily  soluble  in  hot  water,  more  sparingly  soluble  in 
cold  water.     It  crystallizes  in  flat  obliquely  truncated  prisms. 

I.    1.0634  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  135°,  0.0377  grm.  H20. 
II.   0.5307  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave  0.2072  grm.  K2SO 

Found. 
I.  H. 

3.55 

17.53 

0.4507  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  135°  gave  0.1823  grm.  K2S04. 

Calculated  for 
K2C5Br2S06.  Found. 

K  18.35  18.16 


Calculated  for 

K2C6Br2S06  .  H20, 

H20 

4.05 

K 

17.60 

204  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

From  the  structure  of  the  j3y-dibrompyromucic  acid,  which  has  al- 
ready been  determined  by  Hill  and  Sanger,*  it  is  evident  that  a  sul- 
phonic  acid  formed  from  it  must  of  necessity  contain  the  sulpho-group 
in  the  8  position.  It  therefore  seemed  to  us  of  interest  to  prepare 
from  this  /3y-dibrom-S-sulphopyromucic  acid,  by  the  elimination  of  the 
bromine,  the  corresponding  sulphopyromucic  acid.  Should  this  acid 
prove  to  be  identical  with  that  made  directly  from  pyromucic  acid  by 
means  of  sulphuric  acid,  the  8  position  of  the  sulpho-group  in  the  latter 
acid  would  be  established  with  precision.  A  strongly  ammoniacal  so- 
lution of  baric  /3y-dibrom-S-sulphopyromucate  was  warmed  for  some 
time  with  an  excess  of  zinc-dust.  After  reduction  had  taken  place  the 
filtered  solution  was  boiled  with  an  excess  of  baric  hydrate  until  the 
ammonia  had  been  expelled,  and  the  excess  of  baric  hydrate  then  re- 
moved with  carbonic  dioxide.  The  concentrated  solution  deposited  on 
cooling  hemispherical  aggregations  of  colorless  crystals,  which  upon 
investigation  proved  to  be  identical  in  composition  with  the  baric  sul- 
phopyromucate  already  described,  and  to  have  also  the  same  solubility 
in  cold  water. 

0.6194  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  160°,  0.1111  grm.  H20,  and 
gave  0.3614  grm.  BaS04. 

Calculated  for 
Ba(y  I2SO„  .  4  H20.  Found. 

H20  18.02  17.94 

Ba  34.34  34.30 

I.    12.9988  grm.  of  the  solution  saturated  at  21°  gave  0.3169  grm. 
BaS04. 
II.    13.0993  grm.  of  the  solution  saturated  at  21°  gave  0.3181  grm. 
BaS04. 

The  aqueous  solution  saturated  at  21°,  therefore,  contained  the  fol- 
lowing percentages  of  the  anhydrous  salt :  — 

i.  ii. 

3.42  3.41 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  results  prove  the  identity  of  this  salt  with 
that  made  directly  from  pyromucic  acid. 

Action  of  Bromine. 

Bromine  in  aqueous  solution  readily  oxidizes  /3/-dibroni-8-sulphopy- 
romucic  acid  or  its  salts.     If  a  slight  excess  of  bromine  is  added  to  an 

*  These  Proceedings,  xxi.  181. 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  205 

aqueous  solution  of  the  barium  salt,  baric  sulphate  is  at  once  precipi- 
tated, and  after  the  reaction  is  completed  by  gentle  heat  ether  extracts 
from  the  filtered  solution  dibrommaleic  acid.  The  anhydride  formed 
by  sublimation  was  found  to  melt  at  the  proper  point,  114-115°. 

Action  of  Nitric  Acid. 

Diluted  nitric  acid  oxidizes  /3y-dibrom-S-sulphopyromucic  acid  on 
beating  and  forms  dibrommaleic  acid,  whose  identity  we  established 
through  the  melting-point  of  its  anhydride,  114—115°.  By  the  action 
of  fuming  nitric  acid  a  nitro-acid  is  formed.  The  dry  acid  was  slowly 
added  to  several  times  its  weight  of  fuming  nitric  acid.  At  first  the 
mixture  was  cooled,  afterwards  warmed  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
nitric  acid  then  expelled  by  gentle  heat.  The  crystalline  product  of 
the  reaction  was  in  part  an  acid  quite  readily  soluble  in  hot  water,  and 
in  part  a  neutral  substance  which  dissolved  with  more  difficulty  in 
boiling  water.  For  the  complete  separation  of  these  two  substances 
we  treated  the  product  with  a  dilute  solution  of  sodic  carbonate  and 
extracted  with  ether.  The  alkaline  solution  was  then  acidified  and 
the  acid  extracted  with  ether.  After  several  recrystallizations  from 
hot  water,  it  formed  finely  felted  yellow  needles,  which  were  sparingly 
soluble  in  cold  water,  more  readily  in  hot,  and  melted  at  204-205°. 
They  dissolved  freely  in  alcohol,  ether,  or  in  benzol.  Analysis  showed 
the  substance  to  be  a  dibromnitropyromucic  acid. 

I.   0.1050  grm.  of  the  acid  gave  0.1260  grm.  AgBr. 
II.   0.2970  grm.  of  the  acid  gave  11.7  c.  c.  of  moist  nitrogen  at  21° 
under  a  pressure  of  758  mm. 

Calculated  for 
C0HBr2(N02)03.  Found. 

Br  50.79  51.07 

N  4.44  4.47 

The  mode  of  its  formation  shows  that  this  acid  must  of  necessity  be 
the  j3y-dibrom-S-nitropyromucic  acid. 

The  ether  which  had  been  used  for  extracting  the  alkaline  solution 
of  the  crude  nitro  product  left,  on  evaporation,  a  quantity  of  a  yellow 
crystalline  solid,  which  was  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  establish  its  iden- 
tity by  analysis.  The  substance  was  sparingly  soluble  even  in  hot 
water,  and  crystallized  on  slow  cooling  in  stout  prisms,  or  on  rapid 
cooling  and  scratching  in  felted  needles.  In  alcohol  it  was  sparingly 
soluble ;  but  benzol  dissolved  it  freely,  and  on  standing  the  solution 
deposited  quite  large  transparent  yellow  prisms,  which  effloresced  rap- 


206  PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

idly  on  exposure  to  the  air.  The  melting  point  to  the  effloresced 
substance  was  150-151°,  and  the  percentage  of  bromine  it  contained 
showed  that  it  was  a  dibromdinitrofurfuran. 

0.2008  grin,  of  the  substance  gave  0.2396  grm.  AgBr. 

Calculated  for 

U4Br2(N02)20.  Found. 

Br  50.63  50.79 

The  clear  crystals  deposited  from  benzol  evidently  contained  benzol 
of  crystallization.  They  effloresced  so  rapidly,  however,  that  the  exact 
determination  of  the  combined  benzol  was  somewhat  difficult. 

0.2611  grm.  of  the  substance  rapidly  pressed  and  weighed  lost,  on 
standing  exposed  to  the  air  until  the  weight  was  constant, 
0.0486  grm.  benzol. 

Calculated  for 
C4Br2(N02)20  .  C6II0.  Found. 

C6H6         19.80  18.61 

Considering  the  difficulty  of  such  determinations,  this  result  leaves 
no  doubt  that  this  dibromdinitrofurfuran  crystallizes  with  one  molecule 
of  benzol.  The  mode  of  formation  of  this  substance  leaves  no  possible 
doubt  that  it  is  the  aa-dinitro-yS/3-dibromfurfuran. 


/3-Sulpho-S-Brompyromucic  Acid. 

The  three  sulphonic  acids  thus  far  described  contain  the  sulpho- 
group  in  the  8  position,  and,  in  the  two  cases  where  the  formation  of 
isomeric  products  is  theoretically  possible,  we  have  hitherto  been  un- 
able to  prove  that  any  isomeric  sulphonic  acids  are  in  reality  formed. 
For  the  preparation  of  such  isomeric  products  it  was,  therefore,  evi- 
dently necessary  to  start  with  the  8-hydrogen  atom  otherwise  replaced, 
and  the  8-brompyromucic  acid  formed  the  most  convenient  material. 
We  found  no  difficulty  in  preparing  in  this  way  a  sulphonic  acid,  which 
we  have  called  the  /3-sulpho-S-brompyromucic  acid,  and  from  it  the 
/3-sulphopyromucic  acid  itself  may  be  made.  Since  the  brominated 
acid  was  of  necessity  first  prepared,  and  we  were  able  to  investigate 
it  more  fully,  it  may  be  more  conveniently  first  described. 

S-brompyromucic  acid  dissolves  in  fuming  sulphuric  acid  without 
essential  decomposition,  and  after  the  lapse  of  some  time  the  formation 
of  the  sulphonic  acid  appears  to  be  complete.  On  neutralizing  the 
diluted  solution  with  baric  carbonate,  a  barium  salt  is  obtained  which 
is  sparingly  soluble  even  in  hot  water,  and  which  usually  persistently 


OF    ARTS   AND  SCIENCES.  207 

retains  a  slight  yellow  or  greenish  color.  The  purification  of  this 
neutral  salt  is  still  further  rendered  difficult  by  the  fact  that  a  hot 
saturated  solution  of  the  salt  deposits  little  or  nothing  on  cooling,  and 
recrystallization  therefore  involves  the  evaporation  of  comparatively 
large  quantities  of  liquid.  The  purification  may  be  more  conveniently 
effected  by  conversion  into  the  more  soluble  acid  salt,  or  by  preparing 
the  acid  salt  at  the  outset.  The  acid  salt  may  easily  be  made  by  dis- 
solving the  neutral  salt  in  hydrochloric  acid  somewhat  diluted  with 
water,  and  removing  by  recrystallization  the  baric  chloride  formed. 
From  a  solution  of  the  acid  salt  the  neutral  salt  may  again  be  precipi- 
tated by  the  addition  of  baric  acetate,  or  of  course  by  the  addition  of 
amnionic  hydrate  and  the  necessary  quantity  of  baric  chloride.  The 
free  acid  made  from  the  barium  salt  by  exact  precipitation  with  sul- 
phuric acid  forms  oblique  flat  prisms  or  plates,  which  deliquesce  in 
moist  air. 

Baric  fi-Sidpho-b-brompijromiicate,  BaC5HBrSOc  .  5  H20.  —  The 
barium  salt  is  sparingly  soluble  in  hot  or  cold  water,  and  crystallizes 
in  clear  six-sided,  clustered  prisms.  Its  aqueous  solution  is  precipi- 
tated by  the  addition  of  alcohol.  The  salt  contains  five  molecules  of 
water,  four  of  which  it  loses  slowly  on  exposure  to  the  air,  or  more 
rapidly  when  heated  to  100°. 

I.    2.1588  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  by  short  exposure  to  the  air  lost,  at 
162°,  0.3806  grm.  H20. 
II.    1.1795  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  by  short  exposure  to  the  air  lost,  at 
170°,  0.2010  grm.  H20. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

BaC5HBrS00  .  5  H20.  I.  II. 

II20  18.14  17.63  17.88 

I.    1.8574  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  100°  lost,  at  162°,  0.0792  grm.  H20. 
II.    0.7262  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  100°  lost,  at  160°,  0.0317  grm.  H20. 


Calculated  for 
BaC5HBrSOG  .  H,0. 

Found. 
I. 

ii. 

H20 

4.25 

4.28 

4.37 

I.    0.6945  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  160°  gave  0.3980  grm.  BaS04. 

II.    0.7840  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  140°  gave  0.4500  grm.  BaS04. 

III.   0.7825  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  140°  gave  0.4495  grm.  BaS04. 


Ba 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

BaC5HBrSO„. 

i. 

II. 

in. 

33.75 

33.69 

33.75 

33.77 

208  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

We  also  determined  the  solubility  of  the  salt  in  water  at  ordinary 
temperatures.  Since  the  hot  saturated  solution  deposited  little  or 
nothing  on  cooling,  we  prepared  the  solution  by  boiling  down  the  hot 
aqueous  solution  until  the  salt  began  to  separate.  On  cooling  this 
supersaturated  solution,  abundant  crystals  were  deposited. 

I.   32.6032  grm.  of  the  solution  saturated  at  20°  gave  0.5016  grm. 
BaS04. 
II.   33.7864  grm.  of  the  solution  saturated  at  20°  gave  0.5194  grm. 
BaS04. 

The  aqueous  solution  saturated  at  20°,  therefore,  contained  the  fol- 
lowing percentages  of  the  anhydrous  salt :  — 

i.  n. 

2.68  2.68 

Acid  Baric  fi-Sulpho-b-brompyromucate,  Ba(C5H2BrS06)2 .  4  H20.  — 
This  salt  is  most  easily  prepared  by  dissolving  the  neutral  barium  salt 
in  diluted  hydrochloric  acid.  It  is  readily  soluble  in  hot  water,  spar- 
ingly in  cold  water,  and  crystallizes  in  large  well-formed  prisms,  which 
appear  to  be  triclinic.  The  salt  loses  nothing  when  exposed  to  the 
air,  or  over  sulphuric  acid,  and  the  loss  at  100°  is  also  insignificant. 
At  130°  it  slowly  loses  in  weight,  but  turns  brown  and  suffers  partial 
decomposition  before  complete  dehydration  is  reached. 

I.    0.7884  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave  0.2456  grm.  BaS04. 
II.    0.7804  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave  0.2460  grm.  BaS04. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

Ba(C5H2BrSO0)2  .  4  H20. 

I.                          II. 

18.29 

18.32             18.53 

Ba 

Calcic  fi-Sulpho-8  brompyromucate,  CaC5HBrS06  .  2  H20.  —  The 
calcium  salt  is  quite  readily  soluble  in  cold  water,  and  its  solubility  is 
but  little  increased  by  heat.  It  crystallizes  in  compactly  aggregated 
oblique  prisms,  which  are  permanent  in  the  air,  and  lose  but  little  in 
weight  over  sulphuric  acid  or  when  heated  to  100°. 

I.    1.7804  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  205°,  0.1767  grm.  H20. 
II.   0.6483  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave  0.2544  grm.  CaS04. 

Found. 

II. 

11.54 


Calculated  for 

CaC5HBrS06  .  2  ILO. 

I. 

H20 

10.42 

9.92 

Ca 

11.60 

H20 

Calculated  for 
PbC5UBrSOG  .  li  H,0. 

5.37 

I. 

5.42 

Found. 
II. 

5.36 

Pb 

41.15 

41.20 

OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  209 

I.   0.4645  grra.  of  the  salt  dried  at  200°  gave  0.2015  grm.  CaS04. 
II.    0.4026  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  200°  gave  0.1758  grm.  CaS04. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

CaOjIIBrSOa.  I.  II. 

Ca  12.94  12.76  12.83 

Plumbic  (i-Sulpho-b-brompyromucate,  PbC5HBrSO(i. —  The  lead  salt 
is  tolerably  soluble  in  cold  water,  and  its  solubility  is  but  little  increased 
by  heat.  The  salt  dried  by  exposure  to  the  air  contains  one  and  a  half 
molecules  of  water,  one  molecule  of  which  it  retains  when  dried  over 
sulphuric  acid. 

I.    1.5047  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  150°,  0.0815  grm.  H20, 
and  gave  0.9074  grm.  PbS04. 
II.    1.7254  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  150°,  0.0925  grm.  H20. 
III.   0.5361  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave  0.3239  grm.  PbS04. 


in. 

41.27 

1.6958   grm.   of  the   salt   dried   over   sulphuric  acid  lost,  at  150°, 
0.0629  grm.  H20. 

Calculated  for 
PbCjHBrS06    H20.  Found. 

H20  3.64  3.71 

I.   0.5894  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  150°  gave  0.3743  grm.  PbS04. 
II.   0.6496  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  150°  gave  0.4122  grm.  PbS04. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

FbCjlIBrSO,;.  I.  II. 

Pb  43.49  43.38  43.35 

Argentic  /3- Sulpho-b-brompyromucate,  Ag2C.HBrSOfi  .  2  H,0.  —  The 
silver  salt  is  sparingly  soluble  in  cold  water,  and  crystallizes  in  plates 
which  contain  two  molecules  of  water. 

1.3888  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  115°,  0.0968  grm.  H20. 

Calculated  for 
Ag,CjH  BrSO„  .  2  H20.  Found. 

H20  6.91  6.97 

I.    0.1715  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  115°  gave,  on  precipitation  with 

HBr,  0.1340  grm.  AgBr. 
II.    0.1725  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  115°  gave,  on  precipitation  with 
HBr,  0.1337  grm.  AgBr. 

VOL.  XXIII.  (n.  S    XV.)  14 


AS 

Calculated  for 
Ag2(yiBrSO0. 

44.54 

i. 

44.88 

Found. 
II.                  III. 

44.53 

so. 

1G.5D 

16.44 

Br 

16.50 

16.49 

210  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

III.    0.4347  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  1 15°  gave,  on  heatiug  with  HN03, 

0.1684  grm.  AgBr  and  0.2082  grm.  BaS04. 
IV..  0.5100  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  115°  gave,  on  heating  with  HN03, 

0.1980  grm.  AgBr. 


IV. 


16.52 

Potassic  fi-Sulpho-b-brompyromucate,  KoC^HBrSO,;.  —  The  potas- 
sium salt  is  very  soluble  in  cold  water,  and  crystallizes  in  thick  rhombic 
plates  which  are  anhydrous. 

I.    0.4510  grm.  of  the  salt  gave  0.2247  grm.  K,S04. 
II.   0.5020  grm.  of  the  salt  gave  0.2530  grm.  K2S04. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

K,C5IIBrSO<j.  I.  II. 

K  22.52  22.37  22.62 

Action  of  Bromine. 

Bromine  in  aqueous  solution  acts  with  readiness  upon  /3-sulpho-8- 
brompyromucic  acid  or  its  salts.  The  products  vary  with  the  conditions 
chosen.  If  one  molecule  of  bromine  is  slowly  added  to  a  cold  aqueous 
solution  of  the  barium  salt,  carbonic  dioxide  is  evolved  and  baric  di- 
bromfurfuran  sulphonate  is  formed  together  with  baric  bromide.  This 
reaction  is  obviously  identical  with  that  noticed  by  Hill  and  Harts- 
horn *  in  the  decomposition  of  8-brompyromucic  acid  in  alkaline  solu- 
tion by  bromine  in  which  aa-dibromfurfuran  is  formed.  If  the  baric 
/3-sulpho-S-brompyromucate  is  suspended  in  a  little  water,  and  bromine 
slowly  added,  the  salt  at  first  dissolves  and  soon  after  the  baric  dibrom- 
furfuran  sulphonate  crystallizes  out.  From  a  more  dilute  solution  the 
salt  can  readily  be  obtained  by  evaporation.  In  the  latter  case,  the 
solution  is  but  feebly  acid  and  the  yield  nearly  quantitative. 

Baric  aa-Dibromfurfuran-fi-sulphonate,  Ba(C4HBr„S04).,  .  H.,0. — 
This  salt  is  quite  readily  soluble  in  hot  water,  more  sparingly  in  cold 
water,  and  crystallizes  in  pearly  scales  or  plates. 

I.    0.8179  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  135°,  0.0204  grm.  H20. 
II.    0.8833  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  125°,  0.0224  grm.  H20. 

*  Berichte  d.  deutsch.  chem.  Gesellsch.,  xviii.  44b. 


Found. 

I. 

II. 

iii. 

18.42 

18.28 

18.40 

OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  211 

Calculated  for  Found. 

Ba(C4UI5r,S04)2 .  H20.  I.  II. 

H20  2.35  2.49  2.54 

I.   0.3952  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  135°  gave  0.1238  grm.  BaS04. 

II.    0.3932  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  135°  gave  0.1223  grm.  BaS04. 

III.    0.4219  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  125°  gave  0.1320  grm.  BaS04. 

Calculated  for 
Ba(C4IIBr,S04)2. 

Ba  18.40 

Potassic  aa-Dlbromfurfuran-fi-sulphonate,  KC4IIBr2S04. —  The  po- 
tassium salt  can  readily  be  made  by  the  action  of  bromine  upon  a 
slightly  alkaline  solution  of  potassic  /3-sulpho-S-brompyromucate.  It 
crystallizes  in  well-formed  prisms  which  are  anhydrous. 

I.    0.3725  grm.  of  the  salt  gave  0.4090  grm.  AgBr,  and  0.2540  grm. 
BaS04. 
II.    0.3329  grm.  of  the  salt  gave  0.3649  grm.  AgBr,  and  0.2283  grm. 
BaS04. 

Calculated  for  Found.  , 

KC4HBr,S04.  I.  II. 

Br  46.49  46.73  46.66 

S03  23.25  '23.41  23.55 

Bromine  in  aqueous  solution  readily  attacks  the  salts  of  the  aa-di- 
bromfurfuran-/3-sulphonic  acid;  so  that,  if  an  excess  of  bromine  is 
added  to  a  salt  of /3-sulpho-S-brompyromucic  acid,  only  the  products  of 
this  second  stage  of  the  reaction  are  obtained.  The  oxidation  goes  on 
slowly  at  ordinary  temperatures,  more  rapidly  on  warming,  and  even 
after  treating  for  a  long  time  at  100°  with  an  excess  of  bromine  no 
appreciable  amount  of  sulphuric  acid  is  formed.  The  final  product  of 
the  reaction  is  an  acid  containing  the  sulpho-group,  which  we  have 
named,  provisionally  at  least,  sulphofumaric  acid.  The  acid  itself  we 
found  to  be  extremely  soluble  in  water,  and  upon  evaporating  the 
aqueous  solution  in  vacuo  a  viscous  residue  was  obtained  which  did 
not  crystallize  even  after  long  standing.  The  barium,  lead,  and  silver 
salts  of  the  acid  were  very  sparingly  soluble  even  in  boiling  water. 
The  calcium  and  potassium  salts,  on  the  other  hand,  were  very  soluble 
even  in  cold  water,  and  could  not  be  obtained  in  crystalline  form.  As 
might  have  been  expected,  the  strontium  salt  proved  to  be  more  readily 
soluble  than  the  barium  salt,  but  it  did  not  crystallize  well  from  water. 
We  also  found  it  impossible  to  prepare  an  acid  salt  the  properties  of 
which  were  more  favorable  to  purification.  We  therefore  prepared 
and  analyzed  the  barium  and  silver  salts. 


212  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

Baric  Sulphofumarate,  Ba3(C4HS07)2  •  x  H20.  —  To  an  aqueous 
solution  of  baric  /3-suipho-S-brompyroniucate  we  added  a  slight  excess 
of  bromine,  and  finished  the  reaction  by  the  aid  of  heat.  The  strongly 
acid  solution  thus  obtained  was  partially  neutralized  by  the  addition 
of  baric  carbonate,  the  carbonic  dioxide  expelled  by  long  boiling,  and 
baric  hydrate  then  added  to  alkaline  reaction.  In  this  way  a  volu- 
minous flocculent  precipitate  was  thrown  down,  which  was  dissolved 
in  boiling  dilute  hydrochloric  acid  and  reprecipitated  by  amnionic 
hydrate.  Although  the  baric  sulphofumarate  was  markedly  soluble 
in  a  solution  of  ammonic  chloride,  the  analytical  results  were  more 
satisfactory  than  when  the  salt  was  again  precipitated  by  baric  hydrate. 
The  voluminous  precipitate,  when  thoroughly  washed  and  dried  by 
exposure  to  the  air,  formed  a  light,  porous  hygroscopic  mass,  which 
gave  us  on  analysis  varying  percentages.  The  salt  dried  at  130°  gave, 
however,  a  constant  percentage  of  barium  corresponding  to  that  re- 
quired by  a  salt  with  three  molecules  of  water,  and  even  at  200°  one 
molecule  of  water  appeared  to  be  retained.  In  each  case,  however, 
the  ratio  between  the  barium  and  sulphur  was  found  to  be  as  3  to  2. 

0.6486  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave,  after  fusion  with  Na2C03  and 
KC103,  0.4918  grm.  BaS04(Ba)  and  0.3310  grm.  BaS04(S03). 


Calculated  for 

Ba3(C4US07), .  7H20. 

Found. 

Ba 

44.52 

44.58 

S03 

17.34 
Ba  :  SO„  =  2.97  :  2. 

17.52 

Here  it  will  be  seen  that  the  air-dried  salt  contained  seven  molecules 
of  water.  This,  however,  must  have  been  an  accidental  coincidence, 
since  the  same  salt  after  several  days  further  exposure  to  the  air,  con- 
tained more  water. 

1.2865  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  200°,  0.1686  grm.  H20. 


Calculated  for 

Ba3(C4HSO,)2  .  7  H20. 

Found. 

11.70 

13.10 

6H20 

0.5471  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  200°  gave  0.4706  grm.  BaS04(Ba), 
and  0.3159  grm.  BaS04(S03). 

Found. 

50.56 
19.82 


Ba 

Calculated  for 
Ba3(C4HSO,)2  .  H,0. 

50.42 

S03 

19.63 

Ba  :  SO,  =  2.98  :  2 

OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  213 

I.    1.1659  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  130°  lost,  at  200°,  0.0480  grm.H20. 
II.    0.4608  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  130°  gave  0.3798  grm.  BaS04. 
III.   0.5175  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  130°  gave  0.4256  grm.  BaS04. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

Ba3(C4HS07)2.  3H20.  I.  II.  HI. 

2H20  4.23  4.12 

Ba  48.29  48.45         48.35 

In  the  sulphuric  acid  determinations  given  above,  the  baric  sulphate 
was  precipitated  in  the  presence  of  large  quantities  of  sodium  and 
potassium  salts.  Although  it  was  purified  in  the  usual  way  before 
weighing,  the  results  are  undoubtedly  still  somewhat  too  high. 

Argentic  Sulphofumarate,  Ag3C4HS07  .  x  H20.  —  On  adding  a  solu- 
tion of  amnionic  sulphofumarate  to  an  excess  of  argentic  nitrate,  the 
silver  salt  is  thrown  down  as  a  heavy  curdy  precipitate,  which  fre- 
quently becomes  crystalline  on  standing.  It  is  very  sparingly  soluble 
in  cold  water,  somewhat  more  readily  in  hot.  The  air-dried  salt  con- 
tains water,  a  part  of  which  at  least  it  loses  at  100°.  At  110°  it  loses 
more  rapidly  in  weight,  but  decomposition  ensues  at  the  same  time.  A 
sample  of  the  salt  which  had  been  dried  for  some  time  at  100°,  but 
which  was  still  losing  very  slowly  in  weight,  was  analyzed  with  the 
following  results :  — 

I.   0.4448  grm.  of  the  salt  gave  0.4673  grm.  AgBr,  and  0.1933  grm. 
BaS04. 
II.   0.4834  grm.  of  the  salt  gave  0.2933  grm.  Ag. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

Ag3C4HS07  .  H20. 

i.                  n. 

Ag 

60.54 

60.39            60.67 

S03 

14.95 

14.92 

Ag: 

:  SO„ 

o 

=  3.01 

:  1. 

The  air-dried  salt  had  already  lost  at  100°  about  one  molecule  of 
water. 

1.0317  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  100°,  0.0368  grm.  H20. 

Calculated  for 
Ag3C4HS07  .  2  H20.  Found. 

1 H20  3.26  3.57 

The  air-dried  salt,  therefore,  appeared  to  contain  two  molecules  of 
water.  The  analysis  of  a  second  preparation  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave 
substantially  the  same  ratio  between  silver  and  sulphur,  and  yet  showed 
that  the  salt  contained  a  lower  percentage  of  silver. 


214  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

0.4G80  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave  0.3561  grm.  AgCl  and  0.2009 
grm.  BaS04. 


Calculated  for 

Ag3C4HS07  .  2  H20. 

Found. 

Ag 

58.59 

57.28 

S03 

14.46 
Ag  :  SO,  =  2.88  :  1. 

14.73 

By  drying  over  sulphuric  acid  the  precipitated  silver  salt,  we  were 
unable  to  obtain  it  with  any  more  definite  or  constant  percentages  of 
water. 

The  lead  salt  is  almost  insoluble  in  water  or  in  dilute  acetic  acid ; 
but  we  have  been  unable  as  yet  to  obtain  any  results  on  analysis  which 
were  wholly  satisfactory. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  /3-sulpho-S-brompyromucic  acid  is  de- 
composed by  bromine  in  aqueous  solution  according  to  the  following 
equations :  — 

C5H3BrSOe  +  Br2  =  C4H2Br2S04  +  C02  +  HBr. 
C4H2Br2S04  +  Br2  +  3  H20  =  C4H4S07  +  4  HBr. 

Action  of  Nitric  Acid. 

The  decomposition  of  /3-sulpho-S-brompyrornucic  acid  with  nitric 
acid  we  have  followed  qualitatively.  We  have  been  unable  hitherto 
to  effect  a  replacement  of  the  sulpho-group  by  the  action  of  fuming 
nitric  acid,  as  we  had  so  readily  done  with  the  8-sulphonic  acids.  In 
this  case,  whatever  was  the  strength  of  the  nitric  acid,  we  could  only 
prove  the  formation  of  an  acid  which  was  identical  in  its  behavior  with 
sulphofumaric  acid.  Not  unfrequently,  however,  the  oxidation  had 
gone  further,  and  oxalic  acid  was  also  formed  together  with  sulphuric 
acid. 

We  have  made  a  few  experiments  concerning  the  action  of  fusing 
potassic  hydrate  upon  potassic  /3-sulpho-S-brompyromucate,  and  have 
as  yet  been  able  to  prove  the  formation  of  nothing  but  oxalic  acid. 
While  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  other  product  but  oxalic  acid  is  nor- 
mally formed,  we  shall  study  the  reaction  further,  as  well  as  the  action 
of  fusing  sodic  formiate. 

/3-SuLPHOPYROMUCIC    AdD. 

The  ammoniacal  solution  /3-sulpho-S-brompyromucic  acid  is  reduced 
without  difficulty  by  zinc  dust.     A  strongly  ammoniacal  solution  of 


OP    ARTS    AND   SCIENCES.  215 

the  barium  salt  was  heated  for  some  time  with  an  excess  of  zinc  dust, 
the  filtered  solution  boiled  with  the  addition  of  baric  hydrate  till  am- 
monia was  no  longer  given  off,  and  the  excess  of  baric  hydrate  precipi- 
tated with  carbonic  dioxide.  The  solution  thus  obtained  yielded  on 
evaporation  the  barium  salt  of  #-sulphopyromucic  acid  in  satisfactory 
quantity.  Since  this  salt  was  very  nearly  if  not  quite  as  soluble  in  cold 
water  as  in  hot,  its  purification  could  most  conveniently  be  effected  by 
conversion  into  the  acid  salt,  which  was  readily  soluble  in  hot  water, 
but  sparingly  in  cold  water. 

Baric  fi-Sulphopyromucate,  BaC5H2SOG  .  3  H20.  — ■  This  salt  is 
sparingly  soluble  in  hot  water,  and  the  hot  saturated  solution  deposits 
nothing  on  cooling.  By  evaporation  in  vacuo  over  sulphuric  acid,  the 
salt  is  obtained  in  clean  obliquely  terminated  plates,  which  contain 
three  molecules  of  water. 

I.    1.5356  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  160°,  0.2156  grm.  H20. 
II.    1.2179  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  160°,  0.1707  grm.  H20. 
III.   0.7448  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave  0.4571  grm.  BaS04. 

in. 

36.08 

I.    0.7139  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  160°  gave  0.5092  grm.  BaS04. 
II.    0.7303  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  160°  gave  0.5197  grm.  BaS04. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

BaC\-H2SOG.  I.  II. 

Ba  41.90  41.94  41.84 

If  the  solution  is  evaporated  at  100°,  the  salt  separates  in  small 
clear  prisms  with  oblique  truncations,  which  appear  to  contain  one 
molecule  of  water*  If  the  salt  is  removed  while  the  solution  is  hot, 
it  contains  a  somewhat  lower  percentage  of  water  (IV.)  than  it  does 
when  the  solution  is  first  allowed  to  cool  (I.,  II.,  and  III.).  In  the 
latter  case  it  undoubtedly  contains  a  slight  admixture  of  the  salt  con- 
taining three  molecules  of  water. 

I.   4.2755  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  165°,  0.2510  grm.  H,0. 
II.    2.1345  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  165°,  0.1290  grm.  H20. 


Ho0 

Calculated  for 
BaC6IIoS00  .  3  H„0. 

14.18 

i. 
14.05 

Found. 
II. 

14.02 

Ba 

35.96 

*  In  a  preliminary  paper  (Bericlite  d.  deutsch.  chem.  Gesellsch.,  xviii.  2095) 
the  baric  ,3-sulphopyromucate  was  described  as  containing  but  one  molecule  of 
water.  At  that  time  the  salt  obtained  by  evaporation  at  100°  had  alone  been 
analyzed. 


216  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

III.  0.5901  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave  0.3981  grm.  BaS04. 

IV.  0.8840  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  160°,  0.0484  grm.  H20. 


H20 

Calculated  for 
BaCiH2S00  .  HjO. 

5.22 

i. 

5.87 

Found. 
II.               III. 

6.04 

IV. 

5.47 

Ba 

39.71 

39.66 

I.   0.6005  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  165°  gave  0.4270  grm.  BaS04. 
II.   0.6010  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  165°  gave  0.4269  grm.  BaS04. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

BaC5H2SO0. 

I. 

n. 

41.90 

41.79 

41.76 

Ba 

la  determining  the  solubility  of  the  barium  salt  in  cold  water,  we 
evaporated  its  solution  rapidly  until  crystals  began  to  appear,  and  then 
cooled  with  constant  stirring.  Abundant  crystals  of  the  salt  were 
thus  formed.  In  order  to  satisfy  ourselves  that  solutions  of  constant 
composition  could  be  obtained  in  this  way,  we  made  four  separate 
determinations. 

I.    16.2601  grm.  of  the  solution  saturated  at  21°  gave  0.2172  grm. 

BaS04. 
II.    14.4321  grm.  of  the  solution  saturated  at  21°  gave  0.1950  grm. 
BaS04. 

III.  12.1256  grm.  of  the  solution  saturated  at  21°  gave  0.1646  grm. 

BaS04. 

IV.  12.7701  grm.  of  the  solution  saturated  at  21°  gave  0.1788  grm. 

BaS04. 

The  aqueous  solution  of  barium  salt  saturated  at  21°,  therefore,  con- 
tained the  following  percentages  of  the  anhydrous  salt :  — 

I.  II.  III.  IV. 

1.88  1.90  1.91  1.96 

Acid  Baric  fi-Sulphopyromucate,  Ba(C5H„S06)2  .  3  H.,0.  —  This 
salt  may  be  made  by  dissolving  the  neutral  barium  salt  in  hydrochloric 
acid,  or,  more  advantageously,  by  mixing  solutions  of  the  neutral  ba- 
rium salt  and  the  free  acid  in  equivalent  quantities.  It  is  readily  solu- 
ble in  hot  water,  more  sparingly  in  cold  water,  and  crystallizes  in 
small  obliquely  truncated  prisms,  which  are  permanent  in  the  air. 

I.    1.4255  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  130°,  0.1403  grm.  H,0. 
II.    1.3386  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  135°,  0.1271  grm.  H20. 
III.    0.5371  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave  0.2193  grm.  BaS04. 


Calculated  for 

Found. 

Ba(C6H3SOo), .  3  II20. 

i. 

II. 

H20 

9.42 

9.84 

9.49 

Ba 

23.91 

OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  217 

m. 

24.00 

I.    0.3068  grm.  of  the  anhydrous  salt  gave  0.1378  grm.  BaS04. 
II.    0.3128  grm.  of  the  anhydrous  salt  gave  0.1409  grm.  BaS04. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

Ba(C5H3SOG)2.  I.  II. 

Ba  26.39  26.41  26.48 

Calcic  (3-SuIp7iopyromucate,  CaC^HoS0G  .  2  H20.  —  The  calcium 
6alt  is  quite  readily  soluble  in  cold  water,  and  separates  on  evapora- 
tion in  crusts.  By  the  addition  of  alcohol  to  a  cold  aqueous  solution 
the  salt  is  precipitated  in  the  form  of  small  prisms,  which,  when  dried 
by  exposure  to  the  air,  contain  two  molecules  of  water. 

I.    1.0454  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  130°,  0.1444  grm.  H20. 
II.    1.0285  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  135°,  0.1415  grm.  H20. 


Calculated  for 
CaC0II2SOG  .  2  HoO. 

Found. 
I. 

ii. 

13.53 

13.81 

13.74 

H20 

I.    0.4790  grm.  of  the  anhydrous  salt  gave  0.2825  grm.  CaS04. 
II.    0.4118  grm.  of  the  anhydrous  salt  gave  0.2425  grm.  CaS04. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

CaC5lI2SOG.  I.  II. 

Ca  17.40  17.35  17.32 

Potassic  fi-Sulphopyromiicate,  K2C5HSOfi  .  2^  H20.  —  The  potas- 
sium salt  is  extremely  soluble  in  water,  and  crystallizes  in  long  prisms. 
It  separates  in  the  form  of  fine  needles  on  the  addition  of  alcohol  to  its 
aqueous  solution. 

1.2358  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  lost,  at  140°,  0.1788  grm.  H20. 


Calculated  for 

K2C3H,SO,  .  2J  H20. 

Found. 

14.37 

14.47 

H20 

I.   0.4028  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  140°  gave  0.2601  grm.  K2S04. 
II.   0.4120  grm.  of  the  salt  dried  at  140°  gave  0.2665  grm.  K2S04. 

Calculated  for  Found. 

K2C5H,S06.  I.  II. 

K2  29.16  28.99  29.04 


218  PROCEEDINGS    OP   THE    AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

Action  of  Bromine. 

We  have  as  yet  made  but  few  experiments  as  to  the  action  of  bro- 
mine in  aqueous  solution  upon  /3-sulphopyromucic  acid.  They  have 
only  been  sufficient  to  show  that  oxidation  here  follows  the  same  course 
that  it  does  in  the  case  of  other  derivatives  of  pyromucic  acid,  in  which 
the  8-hydrogen  atom  is  unreplaced.  At  first  products  are  formed  which 
reduce  silver  energetically  in  ammoniacal  solution ;  and  only  after 
long  warming  with  an  excess  of  bromine  is  an  acid  obtained  which  re- 
sembles in  its  behavior  sulphofumaric  acid.  Three  molecules  of  bro- 
mine gave  an  acid  whose  barium  salt  was  very  readily  soluble  in  water, 
and  which  reduced  silver  on  heating.  This  reaction  will  be  studied 
more  carefully  hereafter,  with  the  hope  of  isolating  the  aldehyde  acid 
which  is  doubtless  formed. 

Action    of    Fuming    Sulphuric    Acid    upon    /3S-Dibrompyro- 

mucic  Acid. 

By  the  action  of  fuming  sulphuric  acid  upon  8-brompyromucic  acid, 
we  obtained  a  sulphonic  acid  which  of  necessity  contained  its  sulpho- 
group  either  in  the  |3  or  in  the  y  position.  Analogy  left  little  room 
for  doubt  that  the  acid  thus  formed  was  in  fact  a  /3-sul phonic  acid.  It 
seemed  to  us  not  impossible  that  a  y-sulphonic  acid  could  be  formed  by 
the  action  of  fuming  sulphuric  acid  upon  /33-dibrompyromucic  acid, 
which  still  retains  its  -y-hydrogen  atom.  We  found,  however,  that  the 
reaction  takes  quite  a  different  course,  and  that  no  sulphonic  acid  is 
formed. 

Pure  dry  /35-dihrompyromucic  acid,  melting  at  167-108°,  was  slowly 
added  to  several  times  its  weight  of  fuming  sulphuric  acid.  No  visible 
reaction  took  place,  and  after  twenty-four  hours  standing  water  pre- 
cipitated the  acid  apparently  quite  unchanged.  After  the  lapse  of 
several  days  decomposition  set  in,  and  carbonic  dioxide,  bromine, 
hydrobromic  acid,  and  sulphurous  dioxide  were  evolved.  So  slow 
was  the  reaction  that  two  or  three  weeks  were  necessary  for  its  com- 
pletion at  ordinary  temperatures.  When  water  gave  only  a  slight 
flocculent  precipitate,  the  bromine  was  expelled  as  far  as  possible  with 
a  current  of  air,  and  the  whole  diluted  with  water.  The  small  quan- 
tity of  insoluble  matter  was  then  removed  by  filtration,  and  the  aque- 
ous solution  thoroughly  extracted  with  ether.  The  ether  left  on 
distillation  a  white  crystalline  acid,  which,  when  pressed  and  dried, 
melted  at  127-128°.     The  quantity  of  the  acid  thus  obtained  was 


OP   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES.  219 

about  half  that  of  the  /35-dibrompyromucic  acid  taken.  The  acid  dis- 
solved readily  in  less  than  its  own  weight  of  water,  leaving  but  the 
slightest  turbidity,  and  on  evaporation  it  crystallized  in  colorless 
prisms,  which  melted  at  129-130°.*  An  analysis  showed  this  sub- 
stance to  be  monobrommaleic  acid. 

0.2235  grm.  of  the  acid  dried  over  sulphuric  acid  gave  0.2161  grm. 
AgBr. 

Calculated  for 
C4U3Br04.  Found. 

41.03  41.15 

The  melting  point  and  the  complete  and  ready  solubility  of  the  crude 
product  showed  that  monobrommaleic  was  the  only  essential  constitu- 
ent. The  aqueous  solution  from  which  the  monobrommaleic  acid  had 
been  extracted  with  ether  was  warmed  to  expel  the  ether  dissolved, 
neutralized  with  baric  carbonate,  and  the  filtered  solution  evaporated. 
A  careful  examination  of  the  small  amount  of  barium  salt  thus  obtained 
failed  to  show  that  even  a  trace  of  a  sulphonic  acid  had  been  formed.f 
This  result  is  in  accordance  with  the  results  of  Hill  and  Sanger,^  who 
found  that  the  y-hydrogen  of  the  /38-dibrompyromucic  acid  could  not 
be  replaced  by  bromine. 


*  The  melting  point  of  monobrommaleic  acid  is  usually  given  as  128°,  and  I 
hare  frequent^  determined  it  myself  without  noticing  that  it  varies  greatly  with 
the  time  of  heating,  as  is  the  case  with  dibrommaleic  acid.  How  great  this  va- 
riation may  be  can  be  seen  from  the  following  observations,  which  I  made  with 
this  one  analyzed  sample.  The  acid  in  thin-walled  capillary  tubes  was  dipped 
into  the  bath  heated  to  constant  temperature,  and  the  time  of  melting  noted. 

Temperature  of  bath.  Minutes  before  melting. 

143  0.17 

140  0.5 

135  0.83 

133  1.3 

131  1.5 

125  4.5 

121  8.0 

The  melting  point,  129-130°,  given  above  was  the  result  of  two  successive  at- 
tempts to  determine  it  at  the  ordinary  speed.  —  H.  B.  H. 

t  The  statement  made  in  a  preliminary  paper  (Berichte  d.  deutsch.  chem. 
Gesellsch.,  xviii.  2095),  that  a  sulphonic  acid  was  formed  in  this  reaction,  was 
subsequently  proved  to  be  incorrect. 

t  These  Proceedings,  xxi.  175. 


220  PROCEEDINGS    OP    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


Action  of  Fuming  Sulphuric  Acid  upon  Tribrompyromucic 

Acid. 

After  the  experiments  just  described  there  could  be  little  doubt  as 
to  the  action  of  fuming  sulphuric  acid  upon  tribrompyromucic  acid. 
We  thought  it  worth  while,  however,  to  make  a  single  experiment  in 
this  direction.  Tribrompyromucic  acid  dissolved  readily  in  fuming 
sulphuric  acid,  and  decomposition  quickly  ensued  at  ordinary  temper- 
atures, so  that  the  reaction  was  completed  in  the  course  of  a  day  or 
two.  The  diluted  solution  yielded,  as  the  only  product  of  the  reaction, 
dibrommaleic  acid,  which  we  recognized  by  the  melting  point  of  its 
anhydride  (114-115°),  and  by  the  analysis  of  its  barium  salt. 

0.5812  grm.  of  the  air-dried  salt  gave  0.3063  grm.  BaS04. 

Calculated  for 
BaC4Br204  .  2  H20.  Found. 

Ba  31.78  31.98 

Theoretical  Considerations. 

The  constitution  of  the  various  substances  described  in  the  preceding 
pages  requires  but  little  discussion.  The  position  of  the  sulpho-group 
in  the  8-sulphopyromucic  acid  is  established  not  only  by  the  formation 
of  fumaric  acid  by  its  oxidation,  but  also  still  more  conclusively  by  its 
formation  in  the  reduction  of  /3y-dibrom-8-sulphopyromucic  acid,  to 
which  of  necessity  the  formula 

BrC  =  C  -  COOH 

\ 
O 

/ 
BrC  =  C  -  S02OH 

must  be  assigned.     The  close  resemblance  in  structure  of  this  acid  to 
dehydromucic  acid, 

HC  =  C  -  COOH 

\ 

o 

/ 
HC  =  C  -  COOH, 

is  evident,  and  the  formation  of  3-nitropyromucic  acid  from  dehydro- 
mucic acid  as  observed  by  Klinkhardt,*  finds  its  complete  parallel  in 

*  Journ.  pr.  Chemie  N.  F.,  xxv.  41. 


OF    ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 


221 


the  conversion  of  tins  sulphonic  acid  by  the  action  of  nitric  acid  into 
/3y-dibroni-8-nitropyroruucic  acid  and  aa-dinitro-/3/3-dibromfurfuran. 


BrC  ==  C  --  COOH 

BrC  ==  C 

\ 

\ 

0 

/ 

/ 

Br( 

:  =  c-  no., 

BrC  ==  C 

NO, 


O 


C  -  COOH 

HC  ==  C  -  N02 

\ 

0 
/ 
C-N02 

H( 

\ 

0 
/ 

:  =  c-  no2. 

NO.,, 


There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  neutral  substance  formed  by  the 
action  of  fuming  nitric  acid  upon  S-sulphopyromucic  acid  at  the  same 
time  with  the  S-nitropyromucic  acid  is  aa-dinitrofurfuran. 

HC 


HC 


The  structure  of  the  /3-brom-S-sulphopyromucic  acid  is  determined 
by  its  reduction  to  S-sulphopyromucic  acid,  and  by  its  formation  from 
/S-brompyromucic  acid,  the  constitution  of  which  has  been  established 
by  Hill  and  Sanger.*  The  sulphonic  acid  and  the  nitro-acid  formed 
from  it  must  be 


BrC 


H-C 


Concerning  the  structure  of  the  sulphonic  acid  formed  from  S-brom- 
pyromucic  acid,  it  is  impossible  to  draw  conclusions  equally  definite. 
When  we  bear  in  mind,  however,  the  fact  that  bromine,  like  sulphuric 
acid,  first  replaces  the  S-hydrogen  atom  of  the  pyromucic  acid,  and  in 
acting  upon  the  8-brompyromucic  acid  thus  formed  the  /3-hydrogen 
alone  can  further  be  replaced  by  bromine,  there  seems  no  reasonable 
doubt  that  the  sulphuric  acid  in  acting  upon  fi-brompyromucic  acid  also 
replaces  by  the  sulpho-group  the  /3-hydrogen  atom.  This  view  is  still 
further  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  the  •y-hydrogen  atom  of  the  /38-dibrom- 
pyromucic  acid  seems  incapable  of  such  replacement.  If  this  view  be 
correct,  the  sulphonic  acid  in  question  has  the  form 


C  -  COOH 

BrC  ==  C  --  COOH 

\ 
0 

\ 
0 

/ 

/ 

C  -  S02OH 

HC 

;=  c-no3. 

*  These  Proceedings,  xxi.  181. 


222 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


HOS02C  =  C  -  COOH 
\ 

O 
/ 
HC  =  CBr. 

In  aDy  case,  the  aa-dibromfurfuran-/3-sulpbonic  acid  formed  from  it  by 
the  actioD  of  bromine  has  the  structure 


HOS0.2C  =  CBr 


\ 


O 
/ 
HC  =  CBr. 


OF  ARTS    AND   SCIENCES.  223 


XIV. 

CONTRIBUTIONS   TO  AMERICAN   BOTANY.* 
By  Asa  Gray. 

Presented  by  Sereno  Watson,  March  14, 1888. 

Notes  upon  some  Polypctalous  Genera  and   Orders. 

Rutacece. 

Although  nature,  by  supplying  various  connecting  links,  mani- 
festly invites  the  union  of  the  Simarubacece  and  Rutacece  in  one 
order,  yet  the  exclusion  of  the  former  enables  the  botanist  to  define 
the  latter  order  by  its  pellucid-punctate  or  otherwise  glandular-dotted 
foliage  and  the  accompanying  aromatic  or  pungent  or  acrid  qualities. 
But  it  is  difficult  to  draw  the  line. 

PHELLODENDRON  shows  such  dots  or  glauds,  few  and  sparse 
though  they  be ;  so  it  should  rather  be  placed  with  the  Xanthoxyla- 
ceous  Rutacece.  Otherwise  we  shall  be  forced  to  discard  some  of  the 
species  of  the  Tobinia  section  of  Xanthoxylum. 

CNEORIDIUM,  Hook,  f.,  must  more  confidently  be  restored  to 
Rutacece.  Hooker,  in  referring  it  to  Simarubacece,  on  account  of  its 
resemblance  to  Cneorum,  was  not  aware  that  this  little  shrub  exhales 
the  odor  of  Rue,  and  that  the  taste  is  not  "  acrid,"  but  pungent ;  and  it 
is  not  difficult  to  see  that  the  leaves,  although  opaque,  have  truly  and 
numerously  the  Rutaceous  glands.  Occasionally  these  are  manifest  in 
the  petals,  and  they  are  apparent  in  the  skin  of  the  drupe.     Hooker 

*  This  short  paper  is  a  continuation  of  the  one  by  Dr.  Gray  in  the  last 
volume  of  the  Proceedings,  entitled  "  Revision  of  some  Polypctalous  Genera 
and  Orders  precursory  to  the  Flora  of  North  America."  It  contains  the  notes 
which  he  had  prepared  to  present  to  the  Academy  upon  the  Rutacece  and  Vitacece, 
the  revision  of  which  orders  he  had  taken  up  immediately  after  his  return  from 
England  in  October  last.  He  had  scarcely  commenced  his  study  of  the  genus 
Vitis  of  the  latter  order  when  his  work  upon  the  Flora  of  North  America 
ceased.     [S.  W.] 


224  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

describes  the  seed  as  destitute  of  albumen,  the  cotyledons  as  thick  and 
plano-convex.  Torrey,  correct  as  far  as  it  goes,  wrote  :  "  Embryo 
curved  in  thin  fleshy  albumen."  I  find  the  embryo  curved  almost 
into  a  circle,  and  a  very  thin  stratum  of  firm  albumen,  which  might 
be  mistaken  for  a  thick  tegmen  lining  the  crustaceous  testa.  What 
has  not  been  noticed  is,  that  the  oval  and  not  very  thick  cotyledons 
are  longitudinally  convolute,  in  the  manner  of  Cadellia,  F.  Miiller, 
as  figured  by  him  in  Fragm.  Phyt.  ii.  t.  12.  As  Bentham,  in  Fl. 
Austral.,  describes  a  monocarpellary  species  of  this  genus,  with  basal 
style,  and  which  has  dotless  leaves,  it  seems  that  this  genus  is  even 
more  than  Gneorum  allied  to  Cneoridium,  and  that  the  technical  char- 
acter of  the  order  vanishes. 

CHOISYA,  HBK.  The  gynaecium  is  quite  incorrectly  figured 
and  described  by  Kunth.  It  is  in  DC.  Prodr.  i.  724  that  the  correct 
character  "capsida  b-rostrata"  first  appears;  and  the  next  year  (1825) 
Adrien  Jussieu,  who  well  describes  the  pistil,  appends  to  his  account, 
"  Fructus  (teste  Bonpland)  capsularis,  5-sulcus,  h-rostratus"  Finally, 
Baillon  (Hist.  PI.  iv.  471)  adds,  "  Cocci  5,  bivalves,  endocarpio 
soluto  " ;  so  he  must  have  found  at  Paris  dehiscent  fruit,  from  which 
the  seeds  had  fallen,  for  these  are  still  undescribed.  I  can  now  add  a 
second  species  to  this  genus,  and  describe  the  seeds ;  viz.  G.  dumosa, 
Astrophyllam  dumosum,  Torr.  Pacif.  R.  Rep.  ii.  161,  and  Bot.  Mex. 
Bound.  42,  of  which  we  now  possess  good  flowers  and  fruit,  which 
quite  accord  with  Choisya.  The  seeds  (solitary  or  rarely  in  pairs) 
are  reniform,  with  nearly  smooth  subcrustaceous  testa,  and  arcuate  em- 
bryo in  thin  albumen.  There  is  either  a  deciduous  caruncle,  or  else 
a  small  and  definite  portion,  of  the  thin-cartilaginous  endocarp  falls 
away  attached  to  the  hilum. 

PTELEA.  P.  pentandra  of  Benth.  PI.  Hartw.  is  apparently 
Rhus  Toxicodendron.  P.  aptera,  Parry,  of  Lower  California,  is  very 
remarkable  for  its  nucumentaceous  and  turgid  fruit  surrounded  by  a 
very  narrow  wing  or  else  quite  wingless.  As  Planchon  and  Triana 
have  stated,  De  Candolle  was  quite  wrong  in  adducing  Amyris  ele- 
mifera,  L.,  to  P.  trifoliata.  Catesby's  figure  is  evidently  that  of  an 
Amyris,  probably  the  small-leaved  form  of  A.  maritima,  Jacq.  (var. 
angusiifolia) ,  which  is  found  on  the  coast  of  Florida,  although  the 
leaflets  are  represented  as  too  broad  and  rounded  at  base.  The 
habitat  "  Carolina  "  is  a  mistake,  and  it  has  no  foundation  in  Catesby's 
account. 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  225 

XANTHOXYLUM.  Although  most  authors,  including  even  the 
classical  Endlicher,  have  adhered  to  the  faulty  orthography,  Zanthoxy- 
lum,  yet  the  correction  was  made  even  in  Linnaeus's  day  by  Miller, 
and  has  been  adopted  by  nearly  a  dozen  of  the  prominent  botanists 
(including  Smith,  Sprengel,  and  Lindley) ;  so  that,  inasmuch  as  both 
forms  must  be  given  in  indexes,  it  is  better  to  be  correct.  As  well  as 
I  can  make  out,  the  name  Zanthoxylum  began  with  Plukenet  (Aim. 
396),  and  in  a  confusion  (his  original  being  the  Fustic-wood  of  Bar- 
badoes)  which  has  resulted  in  fixing  the  name  of  Yellow-wood  upon 
a  large  genus  of  trees  and  shrubs  that  have  no  yellow  wood  or  bark, 
or  hardly  any.  Linnaeus  in  Gen.  PI.  refers  the  genus  to  Colden 
(who  knew  only  the  northern  X.  Americanum)  ;  but  he  had  much 
earlier  taken  up  the  genus  in  Hort.  Cliff.,  from  Catesby,  whose  plant 
is  the  Carolinian  Clava  Herculis.  In  the  first  edition  of  the  Spec. 
Plantarum  there  is  no  reference  to  Browne,  Hist.  Jam.,  so  the  West 
Indian  species  has  no  claim  whatever  to  this  specific  name.  Further 
information  is  needed  of  the  Arkansas-Texan  form,  which  has  been 
regarded  as  a  species  by  Nuttall,  Wright,  Buckley,  Engelmann,  &c, 
and  (in  Florida)  by  Shuttleworth,  while  I  can  see  in  it  only  a  variable 
form,  x&v.fruticosum.  There  is,  perhaps,  more  doubt  as  to  X.  Cari- 
bcetan,  var.  Floridanwn,  the  X.  Floridanum,  Nutt.  Sylv.  hi.  t.  85, 
which  Watson  in  his  Bibl.  Index  and  Curtiss  in  his  distributed  sets 
refer  without  question  to  X.  Caribceum,  Lam.,  the  full  synonymy  of 
which  is  brought  together  by  Triana  and  Planchon.  But  the  Florida 
trees,  so  far  as  we  know,  are  unarmed  ;  those  of  Lamarck's  species 
are  said  to  be  prickly ;  the  leaflets  of  the  former  are  mostly  fewer, 
and  those  near  the  inflorescence  commonly  obtuse  ;  there  is  an  early 
pubescence  on  the  inflorescence  and  petioles  of  the  former,  and  no 
rimose  wartiness.  But  specimens  collected  by  Sargent  have  foliage 
on  mature  sterile  shoots  quite  like  specimens  from  Martinique,  some 
of  which  show  no  prickles ;  Macfadyen's  X.  elephantiasis  is  said  to  be 
unarmed,  and  Grisebach  does  not  assign  prickles  to  his  X.  aromaticum. 

AMYRIS,  P.  Browne.  Hooker's  suggestion  that  this  genus 
should  be  transferred  to  the  Rutacece  was  rightly  acted  upon  by 
Triana  and  Planchon  in  Ann.  Sci.  Nat.  ser.  5,  xiv.  320,  where 
some  critical  remarks  are  made  upon  the  species.  The  wrong  refer- 
ence of  Amyris  elemifera,  L.,  to  Ptelea  trifoliata  by  De  Candolle  is 
there  corrected.  Catesby's  figure  clearly  represents  a  small-leaved 
form  of  the  West  Indian  and  Florida  coast  species.  But,  by  some 
oversight,  Triana  and  Planchon  say  that  from  the  figure  the  species 
vol.  xxiii.  (x.  s.  xv.)  15 


226  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

is  distinguished  from  all  others  by  its  elongated  leaflets,  narrow  at 
base,  rhomboidal,  and  by  its  piperiform  fruit.  Now  the  leaflets  in 
Catesby's  plate  are  not  at  all  narrowed  at  base  nor  rhomboidal,  but 
ovate-lanceolate.  Most  specimens  do  accord  with  this  description, 
more  or  less,  but  not  the  figure.  Jacquin's  specific  names  take  prior- 
ity, having  been  enumerated  in  1760,  and  one  of  the  names,  A.  mari- 
tima, is  cited  from  Jacquin  by  Linnaeus.  To  this  species  our  Amyris 
is  evidently  to  be  referred,  and  this  name  should  be  preferred,  among 
other  reasons,  because  it  was  taken  up  by  Linnaeus  ;  while  the  A.  syl- 
vatica,  Jacq.,  if  distinct,  as  Triana  and  Planchon  make  out,  is  the 
larger  and  thinner-leaved  one  named  by  De  Candolle  A.  Plumieri. 
The  syn.  of  Catesb.  ii.  t.  33,  cited  under  A.  sylvatica  by  Jacquin,  be- 
longs of  course  to  A.  maritima.  Catesby  gives  no  habitat,  and  his 
platit  was  probably  from  the  Bahamas,  certainly  not  from  "  Carolina." 
"Why  De  Candolle  described  the  lateral  leaflets  of  A.  maritima  as 
sessile,  and  why  Grisebach  made  the  leaflets  of  his  A.  sylvatica  glau- 
cous beneath,  one  cannot  find  out.     We  name  our  forms 

Amyris  maritima,  Jacq.  A.  sylvatica,  DC  Prodr.,  &  Griseb.  at 
least  mainly.  A.  Floridana,  Nutt.,  who  perhaps  mistakenly  represents 
oval  fruit  in  his  Sylva.  Leaflets  mostly  broadly  ovate  or  roundish, 
obtuse  or  acute  or  acuminate,  shining  and  bright  green  both  sides, 
the  veins  and  reticulated  veinlets  conspicuous. 

Var.  angustifolia.  Shrub,  apparently  more  maritime ;  leaflets 
ovate-lanceolate  or  rhombic-lanceolate,  smaller  (an  inch  or  more  long), 
dull  or  pale  in  the  dried  specimens,  and  venation  less  conspicuous.  — 
A.  elemifera,  L.  (Catesb.  Car.  ii.  t.  33).  A.  sylvatica,  Jacq.,  as  to 
syn.  Catesb.  only.  A.  maritima,  Griseb.,  at  least  in  part;  Triana  & 
Planch.  Ann.  Sci.  Nat.  1.  c.  324,  excl.  syn.  Near  to  this  is  the 
following :  — 

A.  parvifolia  ;  a  low  shrub,  collected  by  Prof.  Sargent  on  the 
southeastern  border  of  Texas,  on  the  Rio  Grande  below  Brownsville, 
and  probably  the  same  collected  by  General  Eaton  and  Dr.  Edwards 
in  Mexico,  near  Monterey :  leaflets  only  half  or  three  quarters  of  an 
inch  long,  rhombic-ovate  or  narrower,  obtuse,  nearly  all  crenate  or 
crenulate,  dull,  and  with  comparatively  inconspicuous  reticulation ; 
lateral  ones  short-petiolulate  or  subsessile,  as  is  sometimes  the  terminal 
one  also. 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  227 


VitacecE. 


AMPELOPSIS,  Michx.  p.  p.,  Torr.  &  Gray.  Landukia  and  Par- 
thenocissus,  Planchon,  Ampelid.  in  Mon.  Phan.  Prodr.  v.  446,  447. 
Those  who  can  adopt  all  or  most  of  the  ten  genera  of  Planchon's  Ampe- 
lidece  may  with  him  reserve  the  name  of  Ampelopsis  for  the  first  and 
third  of  Michaux's  species ;  but  if  they  follow  the  rule  of  priority,  and 
thiuk  that  names  given  by  Rafinesque  as  late  as  the  year  1830  must 
needs  be  adopted,  they  will  take  up  his  name  of  Quinaria  instead  of 
Planchon's  new-coined  name  of  Parthenocissus,  the  homonym  of  Lou- 
reiro  being  a  synonym  of  an  older  genus.  But  I  am  quite  unable  to  dis- 
tinguish the  A.  cordata  and  the  A.  bipinnata  of  Michaux,  taken  along 
with  the  tetramerous  Cissus  (Ampelopsis,  Planch.)  orientalis,  from  the 
genus  Cissus.  The  Ampelopsis  quinquefolia,  Michx.,  remains  as  the 
proper  representative  of  the  genus,  and  should  preserve  the  name. 
This  was  the  course  taken,  in  1838,  in  Torrey  and  Gray's  Flora  of 
North  America,  where  the  genus  was  first  rightly  established,  and  in 
the  Genera  Illustrata,  where  the  peculiarities  of  the  disk  and  of  the 
tendrils  were  insisted  on ;  and  this  generic  name  has  adhered  to  the 
Virginia  Creeper,  and  to  the  Japanese  and  Indian  species  which  go 
with  it.  Moreover,  Planchon's  Parthenocissus  appears  to  be  just  the 
same  as  his  Landukia;  for  A.  Landuk,  as  described  by  Miquel,  and 
as  well  as  I  can  make  out  on  a  scanty  specimen,  has  just  such  a  disk, 
or  what  answers  to  disk,  as  has  A.  tricuspidata  Thus  we  have  a 
genus  well  marked  by  habit,  by  its  peculiar  disciferous  tendrils  for 
climbing,  and  by  the  adnate  thickening  of  base  of  ovary  in  place  of  the 
free  or  partly  free  torus-disk  of  the  other  Ampelidece.  It  may  still  be 
questioned  whether  the  mass  of  Ampelidece  can  be  definitely  separated 
from  Vitis,  and  into  how  many  genera  divided ;  but  surely  Ampe- 
lopsis, with  the  Virginia  Creeper  as  the  type,  must  be  admitted  as 
a  good  genus. 


228  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


XV. 


CONTRIBUTIONS   FROM   THE  PHYSICAL  LABORATORY   OF   THE 
MASSACHUSETTS   INSTITUTE   OF   TECHNOLOGY. 

XXIX.— EXPERIMENTS   ON   THE   BLAKE   MICRO- 
PHONE   CONTACT. 

By  George  W.  Patterson,  Jr. 

Presented  by  Charles  R.  Cross,  January  11,  1888. 

In  the  spring  of  1887,  Mr.  H.  J.  Tucker  and  I  experimented  on  the 
contact  in  the  Blake  microphone  transmitter,  with  the  object  of  de- 
termining, if  possible,  the  relation  between  the  normal  pressure  at  the 
contact,  and  the  current  in  the  receiver  of  the  telephone,  which  was 
placed  in  the  secondary  circuit  of  an  induction  coil  in  the  usual 
manner. 

In  the  following  pages  I  shall  give  a  brief  description  of  our  ap- 
paratus, and  some  account  of  our  experiments,  with  the  results  reached  ; 
and  in  conclusion  I  shall  deduce,  from  a  consideration  of  the  appara- 
tus and  the  laws  of  electricity,  equations  for  curves  of  pressure  and 
current  which  are  similar  to  those  obtained  in  experiment. 

In  our  laboratory  work  we  had  the  advantage  of  a  knowledge  of 
the  work  which  had  been  done  in  the  preceding  two  years  by  Messrs. 
Page,  Lewis,  and  Hopkins,  under  the  direction  of  Professor  Cross, 
only  a  portion  of  which  is  published.* 

The  object  of  our  work  being  to  determine  the  variations  in  the 
secondary  undulatory  current  caused  by  variations  in  the  normal  pres- 
sure at  the  microphone  contact,  we  required  some  simple  way  of  regu- 
lating the  contact  pressure,  —  some  way,  if  possible,  which  would  admit 
of  reproducing  precisely  the  same  results  from  the  same  conditions  of 
pressure  and  sound.     This  latter  we  failed  to  accomplish  satisfactorily. 

Having  removed  the  door,  including  the  microphone  contact  and 
the  mouthpiece,  from  the  transmitter,  we  fastened  it  to  the  table, 
leaving  space  between  it  and  the  table  for  an  organ  pipe  (512  com- 
plete vibrations  per  second),  which  we  used  as  our  source  of  sound. 

*  See  Proc.  Am.  Acad.,  vol.  xxi.  p.  248. 


OF  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  229 

To  obtain  a  sound  of  constant  intensity,  we  blew  the  pipe  by- 
means  of  an  air  blast  driven  by  the  engine  in  the  Rogers  Building. 
The  air  was  regulated  by  two  pressure  regulators,  one  allowing 
part  of  the  air  to  escape,  the  other  balancing  the  air  pressure  by 
a  column  of  mercury.  The  height  of  the  mercury  could  be  changed 
at  will. 

The  pressure  in  the  Blake  contact  is  regulated  by  the  attachment 
of  the  carbon  electrode  to  a  spring,  whose  tension  is  adjusted  by  a 
screw.  In  addition  to  the  spring,  which  we  used  for  preliminary  ad- 
justment, we  applied  pressure  by  means  of  a  lever  arm  carrying  a 
scale-pan  at  its  centre,  one  end  of  which  rested  on  the  electrode ;  the 
other  carrying  a  knife-edge  resting  on  glass,  acted  as  a  fulcrum.  The 
scale-pan  was  covered  by  a  piece  of  velvet,  in  order  that  the  addition 
of  weights  might  cause  no  jar  at  the  contact.  In  our  experiments  we 
found  that  any  attempt  to  take  off  weights  had  the  effect  of  disturb- 
ing the  adjustment  of  the  contact  to  such  an  extent  as  to  break  the 
series.  This  same  result  was  frequently  brought  about  by  the  jarring 
of  the  ground  from  the  street  traffic. 

"We  used  a  more  powerful  induction  coil  than  that  in  the  Blake 
transmitter.  The  resistance  of  its  primary  was  0.5  ohm,  and  of  its 
secondary,  899  ohms. 

We  experimented  on  various  forms  of  battery  with  varying  ar- 
rangements of  the  cells,  to  observe  the  effect  of  changes  in  electro- 
motive force  and  in  resistance.  The  currents  to  be  measured  were 
very  small,  and  consequently  some  extremely  sensitive  form  of  electro- 
dynamometer  was  required.  We  used  one  of  the  Kohlrausch  pattern 
with  movable  coils,  which  we  wound  of  No.  40  (B.  &  S.  gauge) 
double  silk-covered  wire.  The  two  outer  coils  might  be  used  either 
in  parallel  or  in  series  with  each  other,  and  in  either  way  with  the 
inner  (suspended)  coil. 

This  dynamometer,  which  differed  in  some  of  its  details  from  the  in- 
strument as  ordinarily  made  by  Hartmann,  was  constructed  especially 
for  experiments  of  this  nature  by  Mr.  Otto  Scholl,  the  mechanician 
of  the  Laboratory. 

The  condition  of  maximum  sensitiveness  with  coils  of  a  given  size 
is  obtained  by  arranging  them  so  that  the  product  of  the  ampere-turns 
in  the  outer  and  the  inner  coils  is  a  maximum. 

In  designing  our  inner  coil,  we  were  limited  by  the  size  of  the  tube 
in  which  it  turned.  This  coil  we  wound  with  as  many  turns  as  pos- 
sible, giving  a  resistance  of  180  ohms,  which  was  not  too  large  for  the 
best  conditions,  the  resistance  of  the  induction  coil  being  hicdi.     We 


230  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

then  wound  two  outer  coils,  each  of  800  ohms'  resistance,  which  were 
as  large  as  it  was  convenient  to  fit  on  to  the  dynamometer. 

For  maximum  sensitiveness,  the  resistance  of  the  outer  coils  should 
he  equal  to  one  fourth  of  the  resistance  in  circuit.  The  sensitiveness 
falls  off  much  more  rapidly  with  decrease  of  resistance  below  this 
point,  than  it  does  by  increase  of  resistance  above  this  point.  The 
law  is  represented  by  the  equation 

T=         X 


(.  +  W1 


in  which  T  is  a  measure  of  the  sensitiveness  ;  X,  the  resistance  per 
foot  of  the  wire  in  terms  of  the  resistance  per  foot  of  the  wire  of  the 
standard  coil ;  /?,  the  total  resistance  of  the  standard  coil  ;  and  a,  all 
other  resistance  in  circuit,  about  1,100  ohms.  (3  X'2  is  the  resistance 
of  the  outer  coil,  the  resistance  of  a  fixed  weight  of  wire  being  di- 
rectly as  the  square  of  its  resistance  per  foot.  T  is  a  maximum  when 
a  =  3/?X2. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  equation,  that,  if  the  outer  coils  are 
used  in  series,  the  resistance,  1,600  ohms,  is  much  too  large  ;  if  they 
are  used  in  parallel,  the  resistance,  400  ohms,  is  also  large  ;  and  the 
instrument  is  64  per  cent  more  sensitive  with  the  parallel  arrange- 
ment. For  best  effect,  the  wire  of  the  outer  coils  should  have  had  a 
section  91  per  cent  larger,  and  the  coils  should  have  been  used  in 
series,  or  a  section  4  per  cent  larger,  and  have  been  used  in  parallel. 
However,  we  found  that  if  the  outer  coils  were  used  in  parallel,  the 
dynamometer  was  sufficiently  sensitive. 

For  a  suspension,  we  finally  used  a  platinum  wire,  0.004"  in  diame- 
ter, all  lighter  ones  breaking  because  of  the  weight  of  the  coil.  The 
length  of  the  wire  was  about  twenty  inches.  The  inner  coil  carried 
a  vane,  swinging  in  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  by  which  one  connection 
was  made,  the  other  being  made  by  means  of  the  suspending  wire. 
Mercury  was  not  used,  as  its  surface  tension  would  not  allow  free 
enough  motion  of  the  contact  wire.  The  deflection  of  the  inner  coil 
was  read  by  a  telescope  and  scale,  a  mirror  being  fixed  to  the  coil. 

As  the  currents  to  be  measured  were  alternating,  it  was  necessary 
to  calibrate  the  electro-dynamometer  for  alternating  currents  ;  for  in 
rapidly  alternating  currents  the  inner  coil  is  acted  on  by  the  outer 
coils  only,  while  in  direct  currents  the  magnetism  of  the  earth  is  felt 
also.  Mr.  Hopkins  in  his  experiments  had  inserted  a  current  alter- 
nator between  the  battery  and  his  dynamometer,  but  found  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  from  leakage   across   the  insulation.     We  therefore 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


231 


sought  to  calibrate  the  dynamometer  with  direct  currents,  and,  by  a 
mathematical  consideration  of  the  curve  obtained,  to  construct  a  curve 
proper  for  alternating  currents. 

In  calibrating  this  dynamometer  we  met  with  considerable  difficulty, 
for  it  was  far  too  sensitive  to  be  put  in  direct  circuit  with  the  most 
sensitive  standard  galvanometer,  and  it  could  not  be  placed  in  a  shunt 
circuit  because  of  the  impossibility  of  determining  its  equivalent 
resistance,  the  inverse  electro-motive  force  of  the  sulphuric  contact  ; 
entering  in  as  a  doubtful  element.  t 

These  difficulties  were  overcome  by  setting  up  the  dynamometer 
with  the  planes  of  its  outer  coils  east  and  west,  connecting  it  in  series 
with  a  very  sensitive  bell-magnet  galvanometer,  and  observing  the 
corresponding  deflections.  Series  were  taken  by  varying  the  resist- 
ance in  circuit,  and  also  reversing  the  current  both  at  the  battery  and 
in  the  inner  coil.  The  bell-magnet  galvanometer  having  been  cali- 
brated by  a  standard  instrument,  we  computed  the  currents  *  cor- 
responding to  the  different  deflections,  and  plotted  the  curves  of 
deflection  and  current  for  the  dynamometer.  These  curves  were 
found  to  be  two  equal  parabolas,  whose  equations  were 


and 


<72-  1.297  C  =  -0.134  5, 
C2-  1.297  C  =  0.134  5, 


(1) 
(2) 


C  being  the  current  in  milliamperes  and   S  the  scale  readings   in 
millimeters.     (Figure  1.) 


Fig.  1. 


*  A  variation  of  0.00001  ampere  in  the  current  could  be  measured. 


232  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

Each  parabola  was  constructed  from  two  series  of  measurements,  in 
both  of  which  the  relative  directions  of  the  current  in  the  outer  and 
inner  coils  were  unchanged,  each  series  being  represented  by  a  branch 
of  the  parabola. 

It  was  next  necessary  to  find  the  law  which  the  dynamometer 
would  follow  for  alternating  currents. 

Taking  the  forces  acting  along  any  line  passing  through  the  centre 
of  the  coil,  we  have  for  the  action  between  the  coils  a  force  propor- 
tional to  the  square  of  the  current,  and  for  the  action  of  the  earth's 
magnetism  on  the  suspended  coil  a  force  proportional  to  the  current. 
These  two  forces  are  balanced  by  torsion.  Expressed  in  the  form  of 
an  equation,  this  gives  aO2  +  f3G  =  y,  where  G  is  current  and  a,  /?,  y 
constants  for  that  position.  To  obtain  the  same  deflection  we  might 
have  used  a  negative  current,  G1,  which  may  be  expressed  as  —  nC; 
then  an2  G2  —  (3  n  G  =  y ;  from  these  two  equations  it  follows  that 
aC2  n  —  y,  that  is,  eliminating  the  earth's  action,  a  steady  current  of 
G*Jn  would  produce  equilibrium  in  this  position.  But,  as  G 's/n 
is  a  mean  proportional  between  the  arithmetical  values  of  the  two 
currents  which  produce  equilibrium  in  this  position,  we  have  simply 
to  find  the  mean  proportional  for  each  position,  and  construct  a  new 
curve.     Solving  equations  (1)  and  (2)  we  get 


1.297 


c  =  ^p  ±  |/^zy2±  0il345-. 

A  mean  proportional  between  the  values  of  G  for  (1)  is  -0.134.aS'; 
for  (2)  it  is  +0.134  S.  Therefore,  the  equations  for  a  direct  current 
when  the  inner  coil  is  free  from  the  earth's  effect  are 

(72  =  -0.134  S,  (3) 

and 

G2  =  +0.134  S.  (4) 

(See  Figure  2).  In  the  case  of  an  alternating  current,  we  have  a  con- 
tinuous variation  in  strength ;  but  if  we  understand  by  G2  the  mean 
value  of  the  square  of  the  current,  and  not  the  square  of  its  (arith- 
metically) mean  value,  which  is  nearly  20  per  cent  smaller,  when 
the  current  variations  are  of  a  simple  harmonic  character,  we  may 
use  equations  (3)  and  (4)  to  express  variations  of  current  and  deflec- 
tion for  alternating  currents.  In  changing  from  (1)  and  (2)  to  (3) 
and  (4),  we  have  made  a  change  in  the  axes  only,  the  curves  being 
identical. 


OF    ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 


233 


Fig.  2. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  demonstration  that  this  transformation  of 
axes  without  change  in  the  form  of  curve  is  peculiar  to  the  parabola. 

The  calibration  being  completed,  we  proceeded  to  investigate  the 
law  of  relation  between  pressure  and  current,  using  the  Dolbear  and 
chromic  acid  primary  batteries,  and  the  Brush  storage  battery. 

The  pressure  at  the  contact  was  adjusted  by  the  spring  until  the 
addition  of  25  mgr.  would  allow  sound  to  be  transmitted  through  the 


M-/1M 

up..  . 

0 

10 

oo 

2C 

oo 

30 

50 

4ot 

)0 

M-G 

R- 

0 

Fig.  3. 


telephone ;  the  weight  was  then  increased,  at  first  by  additions  of  250 
or   500   mgr.,  and    afterward    more    rapidly.*     The    deflections,   the 


*  In  some  series  the  increment  was  only  25  mgr. 


234 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


quality,  and  the  intensity  of  the  sound  transmitted,  were  noted.  The 
accompanying  plots  (Figure  3)  and  table  will  serve  as  exanqdes  of 
the  series. 

The  values  given  are  those  of  the  steady  currents,  which,  in  the 
absence  of  any  magnetic  effects  from  the  earth,  would  give  the  de- 
flections observed.  As  the  precise  form  of  the  variation  of  the  current 
is  uncertain,  no  better  mode  of  procedure  has  suggested  itself.  The 
columns  headed  Def.,  C,  and  Wt.,  contain  the  observed  deflections, 
the  calculated  currents,  and  the  weights  in  the  pan.  These  weights 
should  be  divided  by  2  to  obtain  the  pressure  at  the  contact. 


BRUSH  STORAGE   BATTERY,  TWO  CELLS   IN  PARALLEL. 


1. 

2. 

Def. 

c. 

wt. 

Remarks. 

Def. 

c. 

Wt. 

Remarks. 

.85 

3.05 

5.30 

6.45 
4.35 
3.95 
2.55 
1.75 
1.10 
.32 

.34 
.64 

.84 

.93 
.76 
.73 
.59 
.68 
.39 
.20 

0 

250 

500 

750 
1,000 
1,500 
2,000 
2,500 
3,500 
4,500 

!-  Broken  sound. 

j  Loud,  and   begin- 
\  iiing  to  be  musical. 

Loud  and  good. 

Lower,  and  clear. 

Wavy. 

1  Good. 

Low. 

Very  low. 

2.20 

4.05 

4.30 

2.10 

2.05 

.65 

,65 

.45 

.54 
.74 
.76 
.53 
.52 
.29 
.29 
.25 

0 

250 

500 

750 

1,000 

3,000 

4,000 

5,000 

Roaring. 

[Bad. 

/  Loud,  and  begin- 
J    ning  to  be  good. 

Loud  and  good. 
\  Good,   but    grow- 
)    ing  fainter. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  current  rises  very  rapidly  at  first  with 
this  increase  of  pressure.  At  all  points  of  this  rapid  rise  the  sound 
transmitted  is  very  bad,  and  there  are  very  frequent  breaks  with  the 
intensity  of  sound  employed.  The  maximum  is  soon  reached,  at 
about  1,000  mgr.  pressure,  and  from  that  point  the  current  falls  off 
gradually.  The  sound  becomes  good  soon  after  the  maximum  cur- 
rent is  reached,  and  as  the  pressure  increases  the  sound  diminishes 
in  intensity  but  improves  in  quality.  In  all  our  experiments  the 
same  form  of  curve  represented  the  variation  of  pressure  and  current, 
and  in  all,  the  best  sound  was  transmitted  directly  after  the  maximum 
current. 

I  find  that  this  form  of  curve  is  in  harmony  with  theory,  assuming 
that  the  pressure  at  a  microphone  contact  varies  inversely  as  its 
resistance.  The  total  resistance  in  the  circuit  is  a  constant  plus  the 
resistance  of  the  joint.     This  may  be  expressed  by  the  equation 

/3 


i?  =  a  + 


P> 


OF   ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 


235 


R  meaning  resistance,  P  pressure,  and  a  and  (3  constants.     But 
C  meaning  current,  and  y  a  constant ;  therefore 

Suppose  the  sound  waves  due  to  the  pipe  to  cause  a  varying  pres- 
sure on  the  contact,  whose  extreme  values  are  ±8.  The  extreme 
values  of  the  resulting  current  will  be,  in  each  vibration, 

y(^  +  *)        and      y(P-*) 

*(** +*)  +  ?'  a{P  —  6)+0' 

The  difference  between  them  will  be  proportional  to  the  secondary 
current  /.  The  secondary  current  depends  on  the  rate  of  change  in 
the  primary.     This  relation  may  be  expressed  by  the  equation 


J=e 


p  +  s 


P  —  8 


2/3S0 


(1) 


|_a(P  +  d)+0        a(P  —  8)+p\       a\P*  —  S2)  +  2  a  0  P  + /** 

If  P  is  less  than  8,  it  is  evident  that  the  electrodes  will  break  con- 
tact, a  minus  pressure  being  impossible.  In  this  case  the  current  at 
one  extreme  will  be  0  instead  of 

y(P-S) 


a(P-8)+P> 

and  the  secondary  current  /will  be 

e(P  +  8) 


(2) 


a(P+d)+/3' 

"When  P=  8,  these  two  values  for  /  are  identical.  The  curve 
obtained  by  following  (2)  up  to  the  point  P  =  8,  and  (1)  after  that, 
is  similar  to  the  accompanying  sketch  (Figure  4). 


Fig.  4. 


236  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

The  similarity  between  the  curves  B  and  the  curve  C  shows  the 
close  agreement  of  theory  with  the  results  observed. 

The  first  part  of  the  curve,  corresponding  to  equation  (2)  of  in- 
complete contact,  is  the  curve  of  imperfect  transmission  ;  the  last  part 
of  the  curve,  corresponding  to  equation  (1)  of  complete  contact,  is  the 
curve  of  good  transmission. 

From  equations  (1)  and  (2)  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  pressure 
required  for  good  transmission  of  sound  is  dependent  on  the  intensity 
of  the  sound,  good  sound  being  transmitted  if  8  is  less  than  P.  The 
sound  in  the  receiver  is  loudest  when  S  is  nearly  equal  to  P. 

In  experimenting  with  electro-motive  forces  greater  than  3  volts, 
we  met  with  unsatisfactory  results.  Good  sound  was  not  transmitted 
except  under  heavy  pressure,  and  all  attempts  to  obtain  satisfactory 
measurements  failed  on  account  of  the  well-known  disturbances  set  up 
in  the  microphone  by  the  current  itself. 

In  certain  of  our  experiments  the  resistance  of  the  primary  circuit 
was  diminished  by  joining  a  number  of  cells  in  parallel.  The  uniform 
result  was,  that  the  sound  transmitted  was  louder. 

The  results  of  our  experiments  may  be  summed  up  as  follows  :  — 

The  resistance  of  the  primary  circuit,  and  especially  that  of  the  bat- 
tery, should  be  as  low  as  possible ;  the  pressure  at  the  contact  should 
be  no  greater  than  is  required  to  transmit  good  sound,  —  that  is,  it 
should  be  a  little  greater  than  that  required  to  give  the  maximum 
current ;  with  the  present  form  of  Blake  contact,  no  electro-motive 
force  greater  than  2  volts  should  be  used ;  and,  finally,  the  contact 
should  be  carefully  guarded  against  jarring. 

Our  work  should  be  considered,  not  as  a  complete  investigation,  but 
as  part  of  the  foundation  for  future  work  in  the  Rogers  Laboratory ; 
for  our  results  have  been  more  in  the  invention  of  methods  than  in 
the  use  of  them.  We  trust  that  the  work  in  which  we  have  had  a 
share  may  be  successfully  carried  out  in  the  future. 

Rogers  Laboratory  of  Physics, 
January,  1888. 


OF  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  231 


XVI. 


CONTRIBUTIONS   FROM   THE    PHYSICAL  LABORATORY  OF  THE 
MASSACHUSETTS   INSTITUTE   OF   TECHNOLOGY. 

XXX.  — BOILING  POINTS  OF  NAPHTHALINE,  BENZO- 
PHENONE,  AND  BENZOL  UNDER  CONTROLLED 
PRESSURES,  WITH  SPECIAL  REFERENCE  TO 
THERMOMETRY. 

By  S.  W.  Holman  and  W.  H.  Gleason. 

Presented  January  11,  1888. 

The  employment  of  the  melting  and  boiling  of  various  substances  as 
a  means  of  testing  or  of  graduating  thermometers  at  temperatures 
above  100°  C.  is  a  practice  of  long  stauding,  especially  among  chemists. 
But  it  will  be  readily  conceded  that  the  results  have  been  in  general 
but  roughly  approximate,  owing  to  several  causes  of  error,  e.  g.  im- 
perfect purification  of  substances,  faulty  apparatus  (permitting  under 
or  over  heating),  incomplete  systems  of  thermometry,  and  errors  in 
the  values  assumed  as  the  meltiug  and  boiling  temperatures,  these 
arising,  in  turn,  from  causes  similar  to  those  just  mentioned. 

The  value  of  steam  as  a  means  of  fixing  one  point  on  the  thermo- 
metric  scale  comes  in  part  from  the  facts  that  water  does  not  change  com- 
position on  boiling  at  ordinary  pressures;  that  it  can  be  readily  obtained 
in  a  state  of  sufficient  purity,  so  that  the  temperature  of  its  vapor,  or 
rather  of  a  clean  thermometer  placed  in  its  vapor,  can  be  relied  upon 
as  sensibly  reproducible  under  a  given  pressure ;  and  that  this  tem- 
perature under  more  than  the  ordinary  range  of  atmospheric  pressure 
has  been  measured  (by  Regnault  and  Magnus)  with  sufficient  accuracy 
for  thermometric  uses.  The  primary  measurement  of  temperatures 
above  10L)°C.  is  a  process  of  extrapolation  from  the  ice  and  steam 
points,  and  thus  possesses  the  liability  to  error  common  to  all  extra- 
polation, the  magnitude  of  the  error  depending  upon  the  method,  in- 
struments, and  skill  employed.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that,  whatever 
be  the  system  of  thermometry,  a  decided  gain  in  accuracy  and  con- 
venience would  accrue   to  the  art  of  temperature  measurement  if  by 


238  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

competent  investigation  other  substances  could  be  had  which  at  other 
temperatures  should  fulfil  the  conditions  just  named  as  rendering 
steam  so  useful. 

The  investigations  in  this  direction  by  Prof.  J.  M.  Crafts  —  in  part 
published  *  —  contribute  far  more  than  any  others  to  the  establishment 
of  such  fixed  reference  temperatures.  The  results  of  Mills's  f  measure- 
ments of  melting  points  are  also  important.  Independent  study  of  the 
same  substances  by  various  observers  is  valuable,  even  when  the  check 
results  cannot  claim  all  the  accuracy  of  the  most  elaborate  investiga- 
tions. For  it  is  of  material  importance  to  answer  in  this  way  for  each 
substance  the  questions:  Is  the  substance  reproducible  with  sufficient 
certainty  to  give  wholly  independent  workers  sensibly  the  same  tem- 
perature ?  What  is  this  temperature  in  absolute  degrees  (of  Thomson 
scale)  as  a  function  of  the  vapor  pressure,  errors  in  thermometric 
methods  being  eliminated?  Is  the  substance  readily  reproducible 
without  great  expense  ? 

The  following  is  a  brief  account  of  a  study  of  naphthaline,  benzo- 
phenone,  and  benzol,  undertaken  with  these  points  in  view,  and  with 
special  reference  to  attempting  to  check  the  results  of  Professor  Crafts. 
It  is  probable  that,  owing  to  superior  facilities  and  greater  experi- 
ence, he  has  obtained  results  entitled  to  decidedly  greater  weight  than 
those  which  we  give.  But  it  is  believed  that  the  conditions  under 
which  our  work  was  done,  and  the  pains  taken  in  the  system  of  air 
thermometry,  entitle  the  temperature  measurements  to  consideration. 

In  designing  the  apparatus  we  departed  somewhat  widely  from  the 
published  descriptions  of  Crafts's  apparatus  in  almost  all  details.  Our 
thermometer  contained  air  dried  and  freed  from  C0.2,  while  Crafts's 
contained  hydrogen  ;  its  bulb  was  large  (about  200  cc.) ;  the  sub- 
stances studied  were  either  commercially  obtained  or  prepared  by 
methods  differing  from  those  of  Crafts  ;  and  the  vapor  pressures  were 
under  control  by  a  regulator,  and  were  extended  through  a  greater 
range.  We  have  since  learned  from  Professor  Crafts  that  the  form 
of  gas  thermometer  whose  description  had  been  published  was  not 
invariably  employed,  but  that  others  of  various  capacities  and  forms 
had  been  used. 

The  concordance  of  our  results  with  those  of  Professor  Crafts  for 
naphthaline  (p.  246)  is  certainly  as  close  as  could  be  anticipated,  and 
is  within  the  limits  of  error  in  even  the  most  elaborate  use  of  the 


*  Crafts.     Bulletin  de  la  Soc.  Chim.,  xxxix.  196,  277  (1883). 
t  Mills.     Phil.  Mag.,  (5,)  xiv.  1  (1882). 


OF   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES.  239 

mercurial  thermometer  at  those  temperatures.  For  benzophenone 
(p.  247)  the  accordance  is  from  0°.3  to  0°.5  C,  —  a  difference  possibly 
arising  from  errors  in  thermometry  introduced  by  difficulties  met  with 
on  our  part  from  somewhat  irregular  action  of  the  kind  of  glass  which 
we  were  forced  to  employ  in  our  air  thermometer  bulb,  and  which 
rendered  the  determination  of  its  coefficient  of  expansion  somewhat 
less  satisfactory  at  this  higher  temperature  than  at  lower  ones.  Yet 
we  think  the  difference  too  great  to  be  wholly  accounted  for  by 
thermometric  errors. 

The  results  of  the  investigation  may  be  summarized  as  follows :  — 

1.  Naphthaline,  C10H8,  is  readily  obtainable  in  a  state  of  sufficient 
purity  to  give  a  reference  temperature  exact  within  0°.l  C.  We  have 
found  a  preparation  melting  at  79°.4  to  79°. 8  to  possess  a  boiling  point 
within  the  ordinary  range  of  atmospheric  pressure  {H),  expressible  by 

f  =  218.07  +  0.0625  (H  -  760), 

where  -ff"is  the  reduced  pressure  in  "normal  "  millimeters  of  mercury. 
Throughout  the  paper  the  degrees  and  pressures  may  be  regarded  as 
"normal,"  i.  e.  corresponding  to  the  definitions  adopted  by  the  Inter- 
national Committee  of  Weights  and  Measures,  Trav.  et  Mem.,  i.  (1881). 
No  reduction  for  gravity  has  been  made,  because  the  correction  at 
Boston  is  below  the  limits  of  error  of  this  work.   . 

2.  Benzophenone,    (C6H5)2CO,   is   obtainable  with   some   difficulty, 
and  is  rather  costly.     With  a  melting  point  of  47°. 6  to  48°.0  our  de- 
termination of  the  boiling  point  within  the  ordinary  range  of  atmos-. 
pheric  pressures  is  expressible  by 

f  =  305.6  +  0.060  (H-  760). 

3.  Benzol,  C6H6,  is  readily  obtainable  nearly  pure.  Anhydrous 
benzol  melting  at  4°. 22  was  found  to  have  a  boiling  point  expressible 
within  the  ordinary  range  of  atmospheric  pressures  by 

f  =  80.19  +  0.0455  (H-  760). 

4.  The  boiling  points  for  pressures  down  to  80  mm.  for  naphthaline 
and  benzophenone,  and  to  360  mm.  for  benzol,  are  tabulated  on  page 
247.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  express  the  vapor  pressure  as  a 
function  of  the  temperature  through  these  greater  ranges  by  any  of 
the  numerous  formulae  employed  by  others  for  this  purpose. 

5.  We  regard  the  actual  errors  in  the  final  results  for  the  naphtha^ 
line  and  benzol  at  the  atmospheric  pressure  as  under  0°.l,  and  that 
for  the  benzophenone  as  under  0°.25.     The  average  deviation  of  the 


240  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

single  observation  from  the  curves  upon  which  the  tabular  values 
were  interpolated  were:  naphthaline  0°.l,  benzophenone  0°.3,  benzol 
0°.06. 

6.  The  device  used  by  us  for  controlling  the  pressure  is  easily  ad- 
justable, and  sufficiently  constant  to  afford,  in  connection  with  the 
substances  which  we  have  investigated,  a  means  of  obtaining  exactly 
any  desired  temperature  within  the  range  measured.  Thus  this  or  a 
similar  apparatus  may  serve  for  testing  mercurial  thermometers  at 
several  points,  or  for  maintaining  adjusted  and  known  temperatures 
for  other  purposes. 

Air   Thermometer. 

Primary  temperature  measurements  to  be  reducible  to  the  absolute 
scale  (Thomson's)  must  be  made  by  a  gas  thermometer,  and  the  air 
thermometer  is  the  most  available.  The  Jolly*  form,  in  which  the 
closed  and  open  arms  of  the  manometer  are  connected  by  a  flexible 
tube,  is  the  most  convenient,  and  was  adopted  in  this  work.  The  dif- 
ference of  level  of  the  mercury  surfaces  was,  however,  measured  by 
a  special  device.  Vertically  between  the  two  arms  of  the  mercury 
column  is  placed  a  steel  millimeter  scale  of  1.3  cm.  square  section,  and 
with  straight  edges.  A  T-square  with  double  blade  is  held  by  the 
hand  firmly  against  the  scale  edge,  and  the  blades,  which  project  across 
the  face  of  the  scale,  pass,  one  behind,  the  other  in  front  of  the  mercury 
column.  The  square  is  then  slid  up  or  down  until  the  plane  of  the 
lower  edges  of  the  blades  is  tangent  to  the  top  of  the  meniscus,  just  as 
in  setting  a  barometer  vernier.  By  placing  the  tubes  so  that  there  is 
a  bright  light  behind  them,  differences  of  level  of  the  columns  can  be 
read  with  errors  of  less  than  one  tenth  of  a  millimeter,  the  tenths  being 
estimated.  The  bulb  used  was  about  15  cm.  long,  4.5  era.  in  diameter, 
and  0.5  to  1  mm.  thick,  with  a  capacity  of  about  200  cc,  and  the 
volume  of  projecting  stem  was  but  0.64  cc.  The  glass  bulb  and  tube 
were  continuous  over  to  the  three-way  cock  to  which  the  flexible  tube 
was  attached.  The  class  sauce  tubes  were  about  1  cm.  inside  diameter. 
The  gauges,  scale,  etc.,  were  carefully  protected  from  heating,  and  their 
temperatures  obtained  by  suitably  disposed  thermometers.  The  bulb 
was  filled  and  emptied  many  times  at  100°.  The  air  was  thoroughly 
dried  by  calcic  chloride,  sulphuric  acid,  and  phosphoric  anhydride,  and 
its  carbon  dioxide  was  removed  by  sodic  hydrate.  Two  determinations 
of  its  coefficient  of    expansion  made  one   before  and  one  after  the 

*  Pogg.  Ann.,  Jubelband. 


OF   ARTS    AND   SCIENCES.  241 

measurements  on  naphthaline,  gave  0.00  366  95  and  0.00  366  87,  of 
which  the  mean,  0.00  366  91,  was  employed.     Other  values  are:  — 

Regnault 0.00  366  82 

Magnus 367  10 

Jolly 367  28 

Rowland 367  13 

Mean 0.00  367  08 

With  this  mean  the  above  value  is  in  so  close  accordance  as  to  show 
that  the  apparatus  and  coefficient  of  expansion  of  glass  used  must  be 
sensibly  correct.  The  formulae  used  in  computing  a  and  temperatures 
was  that  given  by  Rowland.* 

The  coefficient  of  expansion  of  the  glass  bulb  of  the  air  thermometer 
was  obtained  by  a  weight  thermometer  made  from  the  same  piece  of 
tubing.  Both  bulbs  were  made  of  the  full  diameter  of  the  original 
tube,  and  with  no  further  heating  than  was  necessary  to  close  the  ends. 
They  were  thus  both  of  the  same  diameter  and  thickness,  and  had 
been  subjected  to  substantially  the  same  treatment.  In  the  computa- 
tions, the  values  of  the  coefficient  /3,  used  for  mercury  were  those  of 
Wiillner's  recomputation  of  Regnault's  experiments.  Measurements 
were  made  in  vapor  of  benzophenone,  naphthaline,  aniline,  and  water, 
a  special  double-jacketed  heater  being  employed.    The  results  were:  — 

Temp.  Pt  used.  .     , 

(Wiillner.)  K  obta™ed. 

306  0.00  018  667  0.00  003  004 

306  667  3  012 

218  468  2  895 

184  401  2  830 

100  253  2  700 

The  values  of  *  used  for  the  benzol  measurements  were  determined 
by  Mr.  W.  S.  Hadaway,  Jr.,  on  glass  of  the  same  kind,  at  temperatures 
below  100°.  The  results  overlap  at  100°,  and  are  sensibly  in  accord. 
In  some  preliminary  work,  with  bulbs  carefully  annealed  before  and 
after  having  been  filled  with  mercury,  values  of  k  up  to  218°  were 
obtained  which  are  in  close  agreement  with  the  foregoing.  The  bulbs 
were  all  filled  by  boiling  the  mercury  in  them.  This  mercury  and 
that  used  in  the  gauges  was  redistilled  in  the  laboratory. 

The  capillary  leading  from  the  air  thermometer  was  as  fine  as  pos- 
sible, and  special  care  was  taken  to  obtain  accurately  the  temperature 
of  the  air  in  the  exposed  stem  of  the  thermometer. 

*  Proc.  Amer.  Acad.,  xv.  98  (1880). 

VOL.  XXIII.  (n.  S    XV.)  16 


242  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE    AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

Boiling  Point  Apparatus. 

Upon  a  horizontal  circular  brass  disk  of  18  cm.  diameter  was  brazed, 
with  a  heavy  collar,  a  vertical  thin  brass  tube  7.8  cm.  diameter  and 
37  cm.  high.  Eccentrically  within  this  stood  a  similar  tube  6.5  cm. 
diameter  and  34  cm.  high,  being  held  in  place  simply  by  its  weight 
and  by  a  thin  brass  collar  so  near  the  bottom  as  to  be  beneath  the 
surface  of  the  liquid  when  boiling.  Notches  cut  into  the  lower  edge 
of  the  inner  tube  allowed  the  vapor  formed  under  this  collar  to  pass 
into  the  inner,  not  into  the  outer  space.  A  vertical  brass  tube,  open 
at  both  ends,  about  100  cm.  long  and  2  cm.  diameter,  passed  through 
the  cover  at  one  side,  and  extended  (by  a  removable  portion)  in  the 
outer  space  of  the  boiler  nearly  to  the  surface  of  the  liquid.  This 
served  as  an  escape  and  condenser  tube,  and  to  its  top  was  attached  the 
exhaustion  tube  when  pressures  other  than  the  atmospheric  were  de- 
sired. Outside  this  a  glass  condenser  was  placed  for  water  circulation 
when  benzol  was  used ;  with  naphthaline  and  benzophenone  this 
outer  jacket  was  removed.  The  height  to  which  the  vapor  extended 
in  the  tube  could  be  ascertained  by  passing  a  moist  cloth  along  it,  and 
could  be  readily  maintained  nearly  constant  by  adjusting  the  gas  flame 
beneath  the  boiler.  The  cover  was  a  brass  casting  turned  and  ground 
to  fit  a  brass  ring  brazed  to  the  top  of  the  outer  tube  of  the  boiler.  It 
was  secured  to  the  ring  by  six  screws,  and  the  joint  was  always  very 
nearly  vapor-tight.  Through  the  top  were  four  borings ;  one  nearly 
central  to  admit  the  stem  of  the  air  thermometer,  three  for  the  inser- 
tion of  mercurial  thermometers  to  be  compared  with  the  air  thermom- 
eter. These  borings  were  closed  by  perforated  screw-plugs,  of  which 
the  central  one  was  split  lengthwise  so  that  it  could  be  placed  on  the 
air  thermometer  stem  after  this  had  been  passed  through  the  larger 
hole  in  the  cover.  Leakage  was  reduced  to  a  minimum  by  an  asbestos 
packing.  Thus,  when  the  liquid  was  boiling,  the  circulation  of  vapor 
was  up  the  inside  tube,  in  which  the  mercurial  and  air  bulbs  were 
located,  down  the  jacketing  space  between  the  tubes,  and  up  into  the 
condenser  tube  until  liquefied,  whence  it  would  drip  back  into  the  boiler. 
The  depth  of  liquid  in  the  boiler  was  from  2  to  5  cm.  The  sides  and 
top  of  the  boiler  were  covered  with  hair  felt  from  one  to  three  inches 
thick. 

The  whole  instrument  was  mounted  upon  a  strong  wooden  frame  in 
such  a  way  that  the  cover  of  the  boiler,  having  the  air  thermometer 
rigidly  attached  to  it  by  a  brass  bracket,  was  fixed  in  place,  while  the 
boiler  was  removable. 


OF   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES.  243 

For  testing  mercurial  thermometers  in  the  vapor  of  substances  boil- 
ing at  high  temperatures,  the  following  apparatus  has  been  employed. 
It  is  similar  to  the  boiler  of  the  larger  apparatus.  Into  the  bottom  of 
a  thin  brass  tube,  of  about  5.3  cm.  diameter  and  20  cm.  high,  is  brazed 
a  thicker  plate.  Within  this  tube  stands  a  shorter  tube  of  about  4.5  cm. 
diameter  notched  at  the  bottom  edge,  and  having  a  somewhat  eccentric 
collar  at  about  2  cm.  from  the  bottom,  to  hold  it  in  place  and  prevent 
the  vapor  from  freely  rising  into  the  outer  jacket.  The  cover  fits  with 
a  flange  into  the  top  of  the  outer  tube  and  is  split  along  a  diameter. 
The  boring  for  the  insertion  of  the  thermometer  is  in  the  centre. 
Through  one  half  of  the  cover  passes  a  thin  tube  about  60  cm.  long 
and  1  cm.  internal  diameter,  projecting  about  15  cm.  below  the  cover. 
This  lower  portion  thus  extends  nearly  to  the  surface  of  the  liquid  in 
the  outer  jacket,  being  placed  of  course  in  the  larger  side  of  that 
jacket,  and  serves  as  an  escape  or  condenser  tube. 


Pressure  Regulator. 

This  has  been  elsewhere  described  in  full,*  and  is  shown  in  the 
figure.  A  Richards  water-jet  aspirator  drew  air  from  a  b  c,  and  c  was 
connected  with  the  apparatus   to  be  exhausted.     The  - 

small  glass  tube  efp  was  drawn  out  to  an  open  point        «= 


at  p.     As  the  exhaustion  proceeded,   the  mercury  rose  « 

in  the  larger  glass  tube/  and  in  f,  until  the  level  in  the 
open  cistern  h  g  fell  below  p,  whereupon  the  mercury  in 
/would  flow  over  into  j,  followed  by  a  sudden  inrush  of 
air,  thus  increasing  the  internal  air  pressure  and  causing 
the  mercury  to  fall  somewhat  iaj  and  rise  at  h  g,  thus 
closing  p.  Repetitions  of  this  process  would  occur  until 
a  steady  condition  was  reached,  when  a  nearly  regular 
stream  of  air  and  mercury  globules  would  flow  con- 
tinuously through/.  To  maintain  steady  action,  proper 
relative  sizes  of  tubes  and  openings  must  be  discovered, 


and  some  constriction  should  be  placed  in  ij,  and  a  vessel  of  large 
capacity  should  be  present  in  the  circuit.  The  amount  of  exhaustion 
can  of  course  be  regulated  by  the  quantity  of  mercury  in  the  cistern, 
and  by  the  lengths  of  the  tubes.  The  pressures  were  of  course 
measured  by  a  separate  mercury  column  and  the  barometer. 


*  Proc.  Amer.  Acad ,  xxi.  1  (1885)  ;  Technology  Quarterly,  i.  (1886). 


244  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

Instrumental  Errors. 

The  barometer  was  one  which  had  been  compared  directly  with 
another  which  had  been  studied  somewhat  by  a  cathetometer,  and  by 
comparison  with  a  Signal  Service  standard  in  Boston.  Its  constant 
error  must  have  been  reduced  to  a  fraction  of  a  millimeter,  which,  so 
far  as  it  is  constant,  would  not  sensibly  affect  the  temperature  measure- 
ments. Scales  were  by  Brown  and  Sharpe,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  and 
had  no  errors  sensible  in  this  work  as  compared  with  a  standard  scale 
bv  Prof.  William  A.  Rogers.  Thermometers  used  were  corrected. 
Those  for  the  more  exact  work  were  by  Baudin  of  Paris,  and  were 
read  to  fiftieths  of  a  degree.  Pernet's  method  of  thermometry  was 
employed.  Calibration  and  steam  exposure  corrections  were  applied. 
A  more  extended  discussion  than  has  been  published,  so  far  as  we 
are  aware,  as  to  the  precision  necessary  in  the  component  measure- 
ments entering  into  the  air  thermometry,  was  made  with  a  view  to  best 
proportioning  of  parts  and  their  elimination  of  determinate  constant 
errors. 

Preparation  of  Substances. 

This  was  done  by  Mr.  Gleason,  under  the  direction  of  Prof.  L.  M. 
Norton  and  Mr.  C.  W.  Andrews  of  the  Chemical  Department  of  the 
Institute. 

Naphthaline.  —  The  pure  product  from  Kahlbaum,  of  Berlin,  was 
used  without  subsequent  treatment.  Samples  were  fractionated,  and 
all  distilled  within  0°.3.  These  distillates  were  kept  separate,  each 
being  divided  into  as  many  parts  as  there  were  tenths  rise  in  tem- 
perature, and  the  melting  points  of  all  were  found  the  same.  The 
range  of  melting  and  solidifying  points  of  the  naphthaline,  as  taken 
from  the  original  package,  was  79°. 38  to  79°. 68  ;  after  use  through  the 
entire  series  of  observations  in  the  boiling-point  apparatus  it  was 
79°.42  to  79°.84. 

Benzophenone.  —  The  method  of  Friedel,  Crafts,  and  Ador  *  was  at 
first  selected,  on  account  of  its  apparent  simplicity  and  the  ease  of  pro- 
duction of  considerable  quantities  of  the  substance  in  the  pure  state. 
For  reasons  not  known,  the  rate  of  production  was  too  small ;  and  the 
process  was  abandoned  in  favor  of  that  of  Chancel,|  namely,  the  dry 
distillation  of  benzoate  of  calcium.  The  benzoate  was  prepared  by 
neutralizing  an  aqueous  solution  of  benzoic  acid  with   milk  of  lime. 

*  Comptes  Rendus,  xxxv.  673. 

t  Liebig's  Ann.  d.  Chemie  u.  Pharm.,  lxxii.  279;  lxxx.  285. 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  245 

When  litmus  paper  gave  the  neutral  reaction,  the  liquid  was  filtered 
hot,  evaporated,  crystallized,  and  dried,  the  mother  liquor  being  evap- 
orated to  dryness,  and  the  salt  dried.  This  gave  a  white  product  with 
very  little  loss.  2500  grams  of  calcium  benzoate  were  subject  to 
dry  distillation,  and  820  grams  of  the  crude  product  were  obtained. 
This  liquid  was  of  a  dark  red  color,  and  608  grams  of  it  boiled 
above  200°.  The  result  of  fractionation  was  a  straw-colored  liquid, 
which  would  not  solidify  by  cooling  even  to  — 15°  C. ;  but  on  the 
addition  of  a  very  minute  crystal  of  benzophenone  the  whole  solidified 
suddenly.  This  product  was  again  fractionated,  and  all  below  280° 
rejected.  After  three  recrystallizations  from  a  mixture  of  alcohol  and 
ether,  500  grams  of  pure  benzophenone  were  obtained,  which,  after 
being  dried,  melted  at  46°. 74  to  47°. 72 ;  a  recrystallization  gave  the 
same ;  but  after  carrying  the  benzophenone  through  the  entire  series 
of  observations  in  the  boiling-point  apparatus,  the  melting  point  was 
47°. 62  to  48°. 02,  and  it  solidified  at  47°.7,  indicating  that  the  initial 
melting  points  were  probably  lowered  by  presence  of  alcohol  or 
ether. 

Benzol.  —  The  Kahlbaum  product  was  tested  for  thiophene  with  isa- 
tine,  and  was  shaken  with  P205  and  distilled.  This  product  melted  at 
4°.22,  and  was  used  in  the  measurements. 

Results. 

The  direct  results  obtained  will  be  now  given,  with  deduced  formulae 
and  tables.  On  page  247  is  a  table  interpolated  for  each  2  cm.  pressure 
for  each  substance.  In  the  interpolation  for  these  an  application  of 
the  method  of  residual  curves  greatly  facilitated  the  work.  Each  table 
of  observations  contains  two  or  more  series.  Columns  headed  p  give 
measured  pressures  in  millimeters  within  the  boiler ;  those  headed 
t  give  the  corresponding  temperatures  measured  by  the  air  thermom- 
eter. The  correction  to  reduce  the  air  thermometer  to  absolute  scale 
is  beyond  the  limits  of  accuracy  of  this  work,  and  has  therefore  been 
omitted. 


246  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


Naphth 

iline. 

Observed  Pressures 

and  Temperatures. 

P- 

t. 

P- 

t. 

mm. 

0 

mm 

o 

759.8 

218.11 

84.8 

141.94 

762.7 

218.29 

141.4 

155.57 

713.3 

215.20 

234.8 

172.12 

655.9 

211.59 

336.1 

184.83 

555.7 

204.61 

461.0 

197.02 

454.4 

196.34 

546.7 

203.91 

352.2 

186.39 

638.1 

210.31 

242.5 

172.75 

711.0 

215.00 

130.2 

152.38 

759.0 

217.84 

"Within    the   limits   of   730  and   760  mm.    the  temperature  varies 
almost  directly  as  the  pressure,  so  that  the  expression 

t°  =  218.07  +  0.0625  (H—  760), 

serves  to  give  the  boiling  point  of  naphthaline  under  any  ordinary 
atmospheric  pressure,  If,  expressed  in  normal  millimeters  of  mercury. 
This  and  subsequent  similar  ones  may  probably  be  used  safely  up  to 
780  mm.  The  following  table  serves  to  compare  our  results  with 
those  of  Crafts. 


p- 

t,  Crafts. 

t,  H.  and  ( 

mm. 

o 

o 

720.39 

215.7 

215.60 

730.31 

216.3 

216.21 

740.35 

216.9 

216.84 

750.50 

217.5 

217.48 

760.74 

218.1 

218.12 

[N.  B.  —  In  Crafts's  original  tables  appear  the  erroneous  values  753.90- 217°.8, 
755.31  -217°.9.  These  pressures  should  be  about  755.60  and  757.31,  respectively, 
as  inspection  will  show.] 

Benzophenone. 
Observed  Pressures  and  Temperatures. 


p- 

t. 

P- 

t. 

mm. 

o 

mm. 

o 

755.1 

305.34 

104.3 

223.60 

698.1 

301.69 

220.2 

251.92 

644.1 

298.08 

314.3 

265.56 

627.7 

288.61 

445.2 

280.93 

432.5 

280.14 

580.5 

292.56 

318.1 

266.52 

660.0 

299.19 

201.2 

250.58 

739.9 

304.76 

88  9 

219.59 

OP    ARTS   AND   SCIENCES. 


247 


Comparison  with  Crafts's  Results. 

Press.  Crafts.  H.  and  G. 

mm.  °  o 

732.38  304.3  303.94 

740.06  304.8  303.41 

750.91  305.5  305.05 

760.32  306.1  305.62 

Between  720  and  760  mm.  the  following  expression  applies  to  ex- 
press boiling  point  as  a  function  of  vapor  pressure  :  — 

t°  =  305.6  +  0.060  {H-  760). 

Benzol. 
Observed  Pressures  and  Temperatures. 


p- 

t. 

P- 

t. 

mm. 

o 

mm. 

o 

769.8 

80.65 

400.7 

60.57 

733.6 

78.71 

351.7 

57.34 

698.7 

77.43 

352.9 

57.63 

660.1 

75.70 

448.8 

63.90 

608.8 

73.11 

589.9 

72.13 

554.7 

70.42 

652.5 

75.52 

518.8 

68.54 

730.1 

79.09 

454.6 

64.78 

768.8 

80.57 

Between  720  and  780  mm.  the  following  expression  applies :  — 
f  =  80.19  +  0.0455  (H-  760). 
Boiling  Points  from  8  cm.  to  76  cm. 


3res9. 

Naphthaline.  Benzophenone. 

Benza 

Press. 

Naphthaline. 

Benzophenone. 

Benzol 

P- 

t. 

t. 

t. 

P- 

t. 

t 

t. 

cm. 

o 

0 

0 

cm. 

o 

o 

o 

8 

140  84 

216.0 

.  .  . 

44 

195.07 

280.4 

63.57 

10 

14584 

222.8 

.  .   . 

46 

196.89 

282.4 

64.90 

12 

150.54 

229.2 

>  •  . 

48 

198.59 

284.3 

66.20 

14 

154.86 

235.0 

50 

200.24 

286.2 

67.42 

16 

158.70 

240.4 

.  . 

52 

201.85 

287.9 

68.58 

18 

162.48 

245.1 

.  •  . 

54 

203.40 

289.7 

69.66 

20 

166.10 

249.1 

■  •  • 

56 

204.92 

291.5 

70.70 

22 

169.46 

252.6 

■  •  . 

58 

205.42 

293.2 

71.70 

24 

172.67 

255.8 

•  •  i 

60 

207.88 

294.8 

72.66 

26 

175.48 

258.7 

•  •  ■ 

62 

209.30 

296.4 

73.64 

28 

178.10 

261.4 

•  ■  * 

64 

210.63 

297.8 

74.60 

30 

180.58 

264.0 

.   .  . 

66 

211.86 

299.2 

75.57 

32 

182.93 

266.6 

.   .  . 

68 

213.10 

300.5 

76.53 

34 

185.17 

269.1 

.   >  . 

70 

214.35 

3018 

77.47 

36 

187.28 

271.6 

58.0( 

)         72 

215.58 

303.1 

78.37 

38 

189.32 

273.9 

59.4C 

►         74 

216.80 

304.4 

79.28 

40 

191.29 

276.1 

60.7/ 

76 

218.07 

305.6 

80.19 

42 

193.20 

278.3 

6 

2.17 

78 

.  • .  • 

•  •  •  • 

81.10 

248  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

This  investigation  constituted  the  thesis  work  of  Mr.  Gleason,  and 
the  experimental  work  was  very  largely  conducted  by  him  alone. 
The  expense  attending  the  work  has  been  met  in  part  by  an  appro- 
priation from  the  Rumford  Fund  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts 
and  Sciences,  in  part  by  the  Institute. 

Rogers  Laboratory  of  Phtsics, 
August,  1887. 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  249 


XVII. 

CONTRIBUTIONS   TO  AMERICAN  BOTANY. 
By  Serexo  Watson. 

Presented  March  14, 1888. 

1.  Some  New  Species  of  Plants  of  the  United  States,  with 
revisions  of  Lesquerella  (Vesicaria)  and  of  the  North  Amer- 
ican species  of  Draba. 

LESQUERELLA  ;  *  new  genus  of  Cruciferce.  Petals  spatulate  to 
oblong-obovate,  entire.     Filaments  filiform  or  rarely  dilated :  anthers 

*  The  Old  World  genera  of  the  Vesicaria  and  Alyssum  group  are  variously 
understood  by  European  botanists  and  are  very  troublesome.  The  species  of 
Vesicaria  upon  which  all  are  agreed  ( V.  utriculata,  V.  Graca  and  V.  glabrescens, 
the  first  being  one  of  the  two  original  species)  have  stout  erect  leafy  stems  from 
a  suffrutescent  base,  glabrous,  or  pubescent  below  with  appressed  2-parted  or 
somewhat  stellate  hairs,  with  large  Erysimum-like  flowers,  very  large  globose 
coriaceous  pods,  nerveless  septum,  and  wing-margined  seeds.  This  is  the  genus 
as  it  is  generally  accepted  on  the  continent,  though  Boissier  added  an  imper- 
fectly known  species  which  he  considered  as  probably  distinct.  If  it  be  thus 
limited,  it  is  certain  that  we  have  no  species  that  can  be  referred  to  it.  Bentham 
&  Hooker,  however,  added  to  it  other  species  with  globose  pods,  separating  it 
(so  far  as  Old  World  species  are  concerned)  apparently  upon  that  character  alone 
from  their  Alyssum.  These  foreign  species  are  (as  Prof.  Oliver  informs  me) 
V.  sinuata,  Cretica,  gnaphalodes,  vestita,  and  probably  also  V.  corymbosa,  though 
this  is  not  included  in  Prof.  Oliver's  list.  Of  these,  V.  gnaphalodes  and  V.  vestita 
are  so  far  differentiated  from  both  Vesicaria  and  Alyssum  that  Boissier  referred 
them  to  distinct  genera.  V.  Cretica  is  a  peculiar  suffruticose  species  with  very 
large  coriaceous  pods  and  toothed  filaments,  usually  made  a  section  of  Alyssum. 
V.  sinuata  and  V.  corymbosa,  both  referred  to  Alyssum  by  Boissier  and  others, 
are  the  two  species  which  most  resemble  any  of  our  own  in  habit,  indumentum, 
the  form  and  texture  of  the  pod,  etc.  The  species  that  are  embraced  in  Alyssum 
as  one  polymorphous  genus  by  Bentham  &  Hooker  are  separated  from  their 
Vesicaria  upon  the  character  of  the  more  or  less  compressed  pod,  but  also  often 
have  the  filaments  toothed  or  appendaged  and  the  cells  of  the  pod  only  1-  or 
2-seeded.  These  are  divided  by  Boissier  and  other  prominent  botanists  into 
4  or  5  genera,  the  question  of  the  retention  of  which  may  be  left  to  European 
botanists  to  determine.    The  American  species  differ  from  them  all,  more  or 


250  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

sagittate.  Pods  more  or  less  turgid,  round  or  ovate  or  short-oblong 
(often  globose),  with  nerveless  valves  and  a  hyaline  septum  nerved 

less  positively.  In  all  our  species  there  is  a  distinct  nerve  extending  from  the 
apex  to  the  middle  of  the  septum  or  beyond.  The  filaments  are  never  toothed 
or  appendaged;  the  petals  are  never  narrowly  unguiculate,  and,  except  in  one 
or  two  species,  are  yellow ;  the  ovules  are  never  solitary  in  the  cells,  and  the 
pubescence  is  always  more  or  less  stellate  or  lepidote.  Among  foreign  species 
the  nerved  septum  is  characteristic  of  the  genus  Lobularia  (Koniga),  as  limited 
by  the  exclusion  of  Ptilotrickum  and  by  the  peculiar  appressed  2-forked  pubes- 
cence ;  and  in  these,  in  addition  to  the  midvein,  the  septum  is  covered  with  a 
coarse  network  of  veinlets  which  I  have  observed  in  none  of  ours,  and  its  areolae 
are  straight  and  narrowly  linear,  to  which  our  only  approach  is  in  V.  globosa. 
Phijsaria,  which  is  included  by  Bentham  &  Hooker  in  Vesicaria,  is  certainly 
to  be  separated,  and  the  removal  of  the  remaining  American  species  is,  in  my 
opinion,  justified  by  the  characters.  We,  moreover,  thus  avoid  completely  the 
difficulties  which  beset  the  arrangement  of  the  Old  World  genera,  and  leave  the 
question  of  our  own  one  that  can  be  answered  with  comparative  ease. 

To  the  species  that  have  hitherto  been  placed  in  Vesicaria,!  would,  therefore, 
now  give  the  generic  name  Lesquerella  (in  preference  to  reviving  Lesquereuxia, 
the  former  name  of  a  genus  now  merged  in  Siphonostegia),  in  honor  of  our  ven- 
erable and  in  every  way  worthy  veteran  palaeontologist  and  bryologist,  Leo 
Lesquereux.  Our  one  flat-podded  species  that  has  been  referred  to  Alyssum 
(A.  Lescurii)  appears  to  differ  in  no  other  respect  than  its  less  convex  valves  from 
a  somewhat  distinct  group  of  species  which  can  be  separated,  however,  only  as 
a  section  from  the  rest.  I  would  arrange  the  known  species  of  the  genus  as 
follows :  — 

§  1.    Altsmus.    Not  canescent  or  scarcely  so,  the  pubescence  loosely  stellate. 

—  Winter-annuals,  the  stems  ascending  or  decumbent :  filaments  somewhat 
dilated  at  base  :  pods  globose,  or  suborbicular  and  flattened  (in  n.  1);  cells  mostly 
6-  or  8-ovuled.     Tennessee  and  Texas. 

*  Seeds  margined :  cauline  leaves  mostly  auriculate :  pods  sessile. 

•*-  Pods  flattened  (valves  but  slightly  convex),  strigose-hispid. 

1.  L.  Lescurii.  Slender,  branching :  leaves  oblong-ovate  or  oblong,  toothed, 
the  cauline  all  auriculate :  filaments  abruptly  dilated  below :  pods  2  or  3  lines 
long,  orbicular  to  broadly  elliptical ;  style  not  a  line  long ;  cells  4-ovuled ;  septum 
dense.  —  Alyssum  Lescurii,  Gray.     Near  Nashville,  Tenn. 

■*-  -i-  Pods  globose,  glabrous. 

2.  L.  grandiflora.  Rather  finely  pubescent :  lower  leaves  oblanceolate, 
sinuate  or  sinuate-pinnatifid,  the  upper  oblong  to  oblong-lanceolate :  petals 
obovate  :  filaments  narrowed  gradually  above  the  base  :  pods  suberect  on  divari- 
cate pedicels;  style  a  line  long  or  less.  —  V.  grandiflora,  Hook.  V.  brevistyla, 
Torr.  &  Gray.     Middle  Texas,  from  the  Gulf  to  Red  River. 

3.  L.  auriculata.  More  hirsute  with  spreading  hairs  :  petals  narrower : 
filaments  abruptly  and  broadly  dilated  at  base:  pods  slightly  narrowed  at  base. 

—  V.  auriculata,  Engelm.  &  Gray.     San  Felipe,  Texas  (Lindheimer). 


OF    ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  251 

from  the  apex  to  the  middle,  several-  to  many-seeded,  sessile  or  stipi- 

tate ;  stigma  flat-capitate,  entire  or  lobed.     Seeds  rounded,  flat,  mar- 

t 

*  *  Seeds  immarginate ;  leaves  not  auriculate. 

4.  L.  lasiocarpa.  Finely  pubescent :  leaves  coarsely  toothed  or  pinnatifid, 
oblanceolate  to  oblong:  petals  obovate :  pods  hirsute,  sessile,  the  stout  style 
half  as  long.  —  V.  lasiocarpa,  Hook.  Ringgold  Barracks,  Texas;  Tamaulipas, 
Mexico. 

5.  L.  densiflora.  Finely  pubescent  and  somewhat  canescent :  leaves  entire 
or  sparingly  repand,  oblanceolate :  petals  broadly  spatulate  :  fruiting  raceme 
often  short  and  crowded ;  pods  glabrous,  substipitate,  the  very  slender  style  as 
long.  —  V.  densiflora,  Gray.     Central  Texas. 

§  2.  Lesquerella,  proper.  Canescent  throughout  with  fine  appressed  and 
often  compact  stellate  pubescence  or  lepidote :  leaves  not  auriculate-clasping : 
filaments  filiform  or  linear-subulate:  seeds  immarginate. 

*  Ovary  and  pod  finely  pubescent,  sessile  or  very  nearly  so. 

■*-  Pods  ovate  or  oblong  or  oblong-ovate  :  biennials  or  perennials  with  simple 

stems. 

•*+  Pods  ovate  to  oblong-ovate,  acute  or  acutish,  somewhat  compressed  (the 
valves  less  convex  toward  the  apex),  erect  on  spreading  or  ascending  pedicels  : 
pubescence  compact  and  rarely  distinctly  stellate.     Western  species. 

6.  L.  occidextalis.  Caudex  usually  simple :  leaves  oblanceolate,  coarsely 
sinuate-dentate,  the  cauline  spatulate,  entire:  pods  oval,  acutish,  3  or  4  lines 
long;  style  2  lines  long;  cells  4-ovuled.  —  V.  occidentalis,  Watson,  Proc.  Am. 
Acad.  20.  353.     Oregon  and  Northern  California. 

7.  L.  Kingii.  Leaves  entire,  the  lower  ovate,  petiolate,  the  cauline  spatu- 
late :  pods  oblong-obovate,  acute,  2  or  3  lines  long ;  style  a  line  long ;  cells 
2-4-ovuled. — V.  Kingii,  Watson,  1.  c.     Northern  Nevada;  Lassen's  Peak. 

8.  L.  alpina.  Dwarf,  usually  cespitose  and  multicipital ;  stems  slender  : 
leaves  entire,  narrow,  linear  to  linear-oblanceolate :  petals  spatulate  with  a 
broad  base  :  pods  oblong-ovate,  acute,  compressed,  2  lines  long ;  style  about  as 
long;  cells  2-4-ovuled  ;  septum  sometimes  perforate.  —  V. alpina, Nutt.  Cypress 
Hills,  Canada,  to  Colorado  and  Montana. 

Var.  intermedia.  Stems  stouter:  flowers  larger,  the  oblong  sepals  2^  to  4 
lines  long,  and  the  petals  more  narrowly  spatulate  :  pods  ovate-elliptical ;  cells 
4-ovuled.  —  V.  alpina,  Gray,  PI.  Fendl.  9.  New  Mexico  to  southern  Colorado 
and  Utah. 

9.  L.  Arizonica.     See  page  254. 

++  +-*■  Pods  oblong  or  oblong-ovate,  not  compressed   or   slightly   so,  erect  on 
usually  divaricate  curved  pedicels.     Rocky  Mountains. 

10.  L. Montana.  Pubescence  often  evidently  stellate;  caudex  rarely  branched: 
leaves  oblanceolate,  the  radical  often  subovate  on  slender  petioles  and  obscurely 
toothed:  petals  spatulate:  pods  3  lines  long,  with  long  slender  style;  cells 
4-8-ovuled.  —  V.  montana,  Gray.  Northern  Colorado  and  southern  Wyoming, 
near  and  on  the  mountains. 

11.  L.  Moxtevidensis.  Compactly  lepidote:  leaves  narrowly  to  linear- 
oblanceolate,  entire  or  repandly  dentate  :  flowers  large  :  pods  elliptical,  3  lines 


252  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

ginless  or  rarely  narrowly  margined.  Cotyledons  accumbent.  —  Low 
caulescent  annuals  or  perennials,  with  stellate  often  dense  or  white- 
long,  the  style  a  line  long ;  cells  4-ovuled.  —  V.  Montevidensis,  Eichl.  Fl.  Bras. 
IS1.  802,  t.  67,  f.  2.     Brazil ;  the  only  South  American  species. 

++++++  Pods  elliptical,  somewhat  obcompressed,  acute  or  obtuse,  erect  on 
spreading  pedicels  :  pubescence  compactly  lepidote.  Arizona  and  Mexico. 
(Abnormal  species.) 

12.  L.  (?)  Wardii.     See  page  255. 

13.  L.  (?)  cinerea.     See  page  255. 

14.  L.  (')  argentea.  Leaves  oblanceolate  to  spatulate,  toothed  or  entire : 
pods  elliptical,  obtuse,  3  lines  long;  style  a  line  long;  cells  6-8-ovuled. — 
V.  argentea,  Schauer,  Linnsea,  20.  720.     Mexico. 

•*-  -<-  Pods  globose,  or  nearly  so,  and  obtuse  (acutish  in  n.  15). 

*+  Annual  or  sometimes  biennial.     Southern. 

15.  L.  globosa.  Pubescence  dense,  evidently  stellate;  stems  slender,  often 
branched  :  leaves  oblong-spatulate  to  linear-oblanceolate  above,  entire  or  spar- 
ingly toothed  :  pods  on  wide-spreading  pedicels,  a  line  in  diameter ;  style  longer; 
cells  2-ovuled.  —  V.  globosa,  Desv.  V.  Shortii,  Torr.  Tennessee  to  eastern 
Missouri. 

16.  L.  Berlandieri.  Pubescence  often  somewhat  sparse  ;  stems  slender, 
often  branched  :  leaves  ovate-lanceolate  to  oblanceolate,  lyrately  pinnatifid  be- 
low, repandly  toothed  above  :  pods  globose  or  ellipsoidal,  1^  to  2j  lines  long; 
style  as  long  ;  cells  4-6-ovuled.  —  V.  Berlandieri,  Gray  in  herb.  Near  Matamoras 
and  at  San  Fernando,  Tamaulipas  (Berlandier). 

17.  L.  Palmeri.     See  page  255. 

++  Biennial  or  sometimes  perennial.     Northern. 

18.  L.  Ludoviciana.  Pubescence  evidently  stellate  or  compact  below;  cau- 
dex  and  stems  usually  simple  :  leaves  narrowly  oblanceolate  to  linear,  mostly 
entire  :  pods  pendulous  on  the  recurved  pedicels,  1^  to  2^  lines  long ;  style  about 
as  long;  cells  4-6-ovuled.  — V.  Ludoviciana,  DC.  Minnesota  and  central  Dakota 
to  Nebraska  and  northeastern  Colorado  ;  northern  Arizona  [Palmer). 

Var.  arenosa.  Low  and  very  slender,  with  shorter  narrow  leaves.  —  V. 
arenosa,  Rich.     V.  arctica,  Hook.  Bot.  Mag.  t.  2882.     Saskatchewan  region. 

19.  L.  Douglasii.     See  page  255. 

*   *   Ovary  and  pod  glabrous   (or  pubescent  in   nos.  27   and  31),  not  at  all 

compressed. 
+-  Pods  oblong  or  pyriform,  substipitate,  on  long  ascending  pedicels.    Arkansan 

annuals. 

20.  L.  repanda.  Pubescence  finely  and  usually  sparingly  lepidote-stellate  : 
leaves  from  lyrately  pinnatifid  to  linear-spatulate  and  entire  :  ovary  oblong, 
acutish,  somewhat  narrowed  to  a  very  short  stipe ;  style  about  as  long ;  cells 
4-ovuled  (mature  fruit  unknown). —  V.  repanda,  Nutt.  Banks  of  Red  River 
[Leavenworth). 

21.  L.  Nuttallii.  Like  the  last,  but  radical  leaves  and  flowers  unknown  : 
pods  broadly  pyriform,  somewhat  constricted  above  the  abrupt  base,  2£  lines 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  253 

lepidote  pubescence,  and  entire  or  repandly  toothed  leaves.     Flowers 
yellow  (white  or  rose-colored  in  one  or  two  species).     Pods  much 

long,  shortly  stipitate;  style  1  or  2  lines  long;  cells  6-8-ovuled.  —  V.  Nuttallii, 
Torr.  &  Gray.     Prairies  of  Red  River  (Leavenworth). 

+-  h-  Pods  globose.     Southwestern,  except  n.  31. 

++  Pods  pendent  on  recurved  pedicels,  sessile  or  scarcely  stipitate. 

=  Flowers  white  or  rose-colored. 

22.  L.  purpurea.  Biennial  or  perennial,  the  caudex  simple  or  branched ; 
pubescence  fine,  scattered,  or  more  or  less  compact  on  the  lower  leaves  :  leaves 
oblanceolate,  the  lower  often  coarsely  repand  or  subpinnatifid  :  pods  rarely 
ascending,  1$  to  3  lines  broad ;  style  a  line  long  or  less ;  cells  2-G-ovuled.  — 
V.  purpurea,  Gray.     Western  Texas  to  Arizona  and  northern  Mexico. 

23.  L.  pallida.  Annual,  finely  and  rather  sparingly  scurfy :  leaves  oblan- 
ceolate, repand:  pods  shortly  stipitate,  2  lines  broad;  style  a  line  long;  cells 
6-ovuled.  —  V.  pallida,  Nutt.  San  Augustin,  eastern  Texas  (Leavenworth). 
Perhaps  a  form  of  the  next. 

=  =  Flowers  yellow. 

24.  L.  recurvata.  Annual,  thinly  pubescent :  leaves  entire,  oblong-oblanceo- 
late  or  -spatulate,  short:  pods  sessile,  1  or  2  lines  broad  ;  style  about  as  long; 
cells  2-4-ovuled.  —  V.  recurvata,  Engelm.  V.  angustifolia,  Scheele,  in  part. 
Central  Texas. 

++  ++  Pods  suberect  on  ascending  or  curved  pedicels. 

=  Annual  (rarely  biennial?),  usually  branched  :  pods  often  stipitate.     (Very 

closely  allied  species.) 

25.  L.  Lindheimeri.  Pubescence  very  fine  or  compactly  lepidote ;  stems 
erect  or  ascending  :  leaves  oblong-  to  narrowly  oblanceolate,  repand  or  dentate  : 
pods  2  lines  broad  ;  stipe  short  ;  style  rather  shorter  than  the  pod  ;  cells 
6-8-ovuled.  —  V.  Lindheimeri,  Gray.     Texas. 

26.  L.  gracilis.  Pubescence  very  fine,  usually  scanty ;  stems  slender  and 
usually  lax:  leaves  narrowly  oblanceolate,  entire  or  sparingly  repand:  pods 
stipitate,  1£  or  2  lines  broad,  on  slender  often  elongated  pedicels  ;  style  nearly 
or  quite  as  long ;  cells  4-6-ovuled.  —  V.  gracilis,  Hook.  V.  polyaniha,  Schlecht. 
Central  Texas  to  Kansas. 

Var.  sessilis.  Pods  sessile.  —  V.  angustifolia,  Gray,  PI.  Wright.  2.  13,  in 
part.     Texas  (848  Wright;  326  Lindheimer ?). 

27.  L.  Gordoni.  Pubescence  somewhat  coarser;  often  low :  leaves  linear- 
oblanceolate,  entire  or  rarely  repand  :  pods  stipitate,  2  lines  broad  ;  style  shorter ; 
cells  6-ovuled.  —  V.  Gordoni,  Gray.  Extreme  western  Texas  to  New  Mexico 
and  Arizona.     Very  near  the  last. 

Var.  sessilis.  Pods  sessile  or  nearly  so  and  often  pubescent.  — V.  angustifolia, 
Gray,  1.  c.  in  part.     Same  range. 

28.  L.  angustifolia.  Finely  lepidote  :  lower  leaves  lyrate-pinnatifid,  the 
cauline  narrowly  linear  and  petiolate :  pods  sessile,  2  to  2|  lines  broad  ;  style 
somewhat  shorter  ;  cells  2-ovuled.  — V.  angustifolia,  Nutt.  Prairies  of  Red  River, 
Arkansas  (Leavenworth,  Nuttall). 


254  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

compressed  in  one  species,  and  somewhat  so  toward  the  apex  in  a  few 
others ;  obcompressed  in  some  doubtful  species.  Vesicaria,  Auct.,  as 
to  American  species,  excluding  Physaria. 

Lesquerella.  Arizonica.  Dwarf  densely  cespitose  multicipital 
perennial,  with  compact  finely  stellate  or  lepidote  pubescence :  leaves 
narrowly  oblanceolate,  entire :  flowers  rather  large,  the  sepals  2 J  lines 
long  or  less  ;  petals  with  a  very  broad  undulate  claw,  rounded  above : 
pods  broadly  ovate,  somewhat  compressed,  acute,  pubescent,  sessile, 
the  cells  4-ovuled  ;  style  a  line  long  or  more.  —  Arizona ;  near  Pres- 
cott  (16  Palmer,  1876),  near  Williams  Station  (4188  Lemmon),  at 
Peach  Springs  (4177  Lemmon,  64  Jones),  and  at  Mokiak  Pass  (43 
Palmer,  1877). 

=  =   Biennial  or  usually  perennial  (often  fruiting  the  first  year)  :  pods  sessile, 
or  nearly  so,  on  ascending  or  spreading  pedicels. 

«*>  Pubescence  evidently  stellate. 

29.  L.  Engelmanni.  Pubescence  dense  ;  caudex  usually  much  branched  ; 
stems  often  dwarf,  usually  simple  :  leaves  ovate  and  petiolate  to  linear-oblanceo- 
late,  or  the  upper  linear-spatulate,  entire  or  slightly  repand  :  raceme  usually 
short  :  pods  substipitate,  3  lines  broad  ;  style  as  long  ;  cells  6-8-ovuled.  — 
V.  Engelmanni,  Gray.  Central  Texas  to  western  Kansas  and  southeastern 
Colorado. 

30.  L.  argyrea.  Pubescence  more  or  less  dense  ;  caudex  often  simple 
and  apparently  annual;  leafy  stems  decumbent  or  procumbent :  leaves  ovate 
and  petiolate  to  narrowly  oblanceolate,  entire  or  repand  ;  petals  often  turning 
purple  :  pods  sessile,  in  a  long  raceme,  2  to  2\  lines  broad ;  style  as  long  or 
shorter  ;  cells  6-10-ovuled.  —  V.  argyrea,  Gray.  Southwestern  Texas  and  north- 
eastern Mexico. 

un  un  Pubescence  compactly  lepidote,  rarely  evidently  stellate. 

31.  L.  arctica.  Caudex  and  stems  usually  simple,  low  :  leaves  spatulate  or 
narrowly  oblanceolate,  entire :  pods  2|  to  3  lines  broad ;  style  a  line  long  or 
less  ;  cells  6-ovuled;  septum  perforate. — V.  arctica,  Richards.  West  Greenland 
and  Arctic  Coast  to  the  Mackenzie  River. 

Var.  Purshii.  Pod  somewhat  pubescent;  septum  complete.  —  Anticosti 
Island  (Shepherd, Macoun) ;  "Canada"  (Pursh,  in  Herb.  Torr.). 

32.  L.  Fendleri.  Usually  evidently  perennial  and  caudex  much  branched, 
often  dwarf;  stems  simple :  leaves  numerous,  entire,  mostly  narrowly  linear- 
oblanceolate  :  pods  in  a  dense  usually  short  raceme,  2  or  3  lines  long,  sometimes 
ellipsoidal  or  acutish  ;  style  usually  as  long ;  cells  10-16-ovuled.  —  V.  Fendleri 
and  V.  stenophylla,  Gray.  Western  Texas  and  southern  Colorado  to  Arizona 
and  northern  Mexico. 

33.  L.  Schaffneri.  Caudex  simple  ;  stems  ascending  or  decumbent  : 
leaves  linear-  to  oblong-oblanceolate  or  spatulate,  entire  or  repand  :  petals 
turning  purple :  pods  subovate,  1£  to  2|  lines  long ;  style  half  as  long ;  cells 
6-ovuled.—  V.  Schaffneri,  Watson,  Proc.  Am.  Acad.  17.  320.  San  Luis  Potosi, 
Mexico. 


OF   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES.  255 

Lesquerella  Palmeri.  Pubescence  dense,  stellate-lepidote ; 
caudex  simple,  apparently  biennial,  the  simple  stems  a  foot  high  or 
more:  basal  leaves  narrowly  oblanceolate,  repand,  the  cauline  nar- 
rower and  mostly  entire :  petals  spatulate,  3  lines  long :  pods  pubes- 
cent, ovate-globose  to  broadly  ellipsoidal,  erect  on  long  spreading  or 
ascending  pedicels ;  style  as  long  as  the  pod ;  cells  2-4-ovuled.  — 
Arizoua  {Palmer,  1872;  cult,  at  Washington);  Topo  canon,  Lower 
California  (O.  B.  Orcutt,  1884). 

Lesquerella  Douglasii.  Resembling  L.  Ludoviciana,  but  the 
pods  smaller,  obovate  and  very  obtuse,  erect  upon  the  spreading  pedi- 
cels, and  the  cells  only  2-ovuled :  lower  leaves  sometimes  ovate  upon 
a  narrow  petiole.  —  Vesicaria  Ludoviciana,  Hook.  Fl.  Bor.-Am. 
1.  48,  as  to  habitat;  Torr.  Bot.  Wilkes,  232.  On  the  Columbia  River 
east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  (Wilkes,  Lyall,  Suksdorf);  Wallowa 
Mountains,  eastern  Oregon  (Cusich).  First  collected  by  Douglas, 
but  locality  not  given. 

Lesquerella  (?)  Wardii.  A  procumbent  and  very  compactly 
lepidote  biennial  (?),  with  short  stems  ;  radical  leaves  round-ovate  on 
slender  petioles,  the  cauline  short,  linear-  to  obovate-spatulate :  pods 
elliptical,  somewhat  obcompressed,  acute  or  acutish,  the  valves  very 
convex,  lh  to  2J  lines  long,  erect  on  short  spreading  pedicels;  septum 
oblong;  cells  2-4-ovuled;  style  a  line  long  or  more:  seeds  somewhat 
turgid  and  irregular,  the  long  radicle  more  or  less  curved  to  one  side. 
—  Arizona,  on  the  Aquarius  Plateau,  at  11,000  feet  altitude  (L.  F. 
Ward,  1875).     An  abnormal  species. 

Lesquerella  (?)  cinerea.  Like  the  last  in  habit :  sepals  narrow, 
3  lines  long ;  petals  4  lines  long,  with  a  very  broad  undulate  claw 
somewhat  contracted  below  the  rounded  blade :  ovary  elliptical,  acute, 
obcompressed;  cells  12-ovuled  (mature  fruit  unknown). — Arizona, 
locality  not  given  (Palmer,  1869).  Like  the  last  abnormal  in  its  ob- 
compressed pod,  and  perhaps  to  be  transferred,  when  better  known, 
to  Physaria. 

Draba  *   subsessilis.     Perennial,  dwarf,  densely  cespitose,    the 

*  The  North  American  species  of  Draba,  exclusive  of  the  Mexican,  are  the 
following :  — 

§  1.  Erophila,  Lindbl.  Petals  bifid.  —  A  stellate-pubescent  scapose  winter- 
annual,  with  coarsely  toothed  or  entire  leaves,  white  flowers  and  many-seeded 
round-oval  to  oblong  pods.     Erophila,  DC. 

1.  D.  verna,  Linn.  —  E.  vulgaris,  Americana,  etc.,  DC.  Naturalized  from  the 
Atlantic  to  Minnesota  and  Missouri,  and  at  Vancouver,  W.  T.  Identical  with 
European  forms. 


256  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

numerous  short  branches  of  the  caudex  forming  a  broad  mat,  scapose, 
finely  stellate-pubescent :  leaves  very  small,  oblong,  obtuse,  not  ciliate : 

§  2.  Heterodraba.  Pedicels  reflexed  to  one  side.  Seeds  hispidulous.  — 
A  stellate-pubescent  short-caulescent  and  branching  winter-annual,  with  coarsely 
toothed  or  entire  leaves,  white  flowers  and  round-oval  8-12-seeded  pods.  Hetero- 
draba, Greene,  Bull.  Calif.  Acad.  1.  72. 

2.  D.  unilateralis,  Jones.  Branches  elongated,  lax  :  leaves  cuneate-obo- 
vate  to  oblanceolate  :  racemes  usually  nearly  sessile  :  flowers  very  small :  pods 
somewhat  twisted,  on  short  pedicels.  —  Torr.  Bull.  9.  124.  Colusa  County, 
California,  to  Lower  California. 

§  3.  Drabella,  DC.  Stellate-pubescent  or  more  or  less  villous  short- 
caulescent  and  more  or  less  leafy  winter-annuals  (scapose  and  rarely  biennial 
in  n.  12),  with  ascending  or  spreading  pedicels,  entire  or  emarginate  petals  and 
smooth  seeds. 

*  Early  spring  species  of  valleys  and  hillsides,  or  southern. 

-t-  Leaves  entire  :  flowers  small,  white  :  pedicels  clustered  or  approximate. 

3.  D.  Caroliniana,  Walt.  Branches  often  decumbent,  the  peduncles  scape- 
like :  leaves  loosely  stellate-pubescent :  pods  linear,  glabrous.  —  New  England  to 
Minnesota,  Arkansas  and  Georgia  ;  Umatifla,  Oregon. 

Var.  micrantha,  Gray.     Pods  subappressed-hispid.  —  Illinois  to  Texas,  New 
Mexico  and  Washington  Territory. 
■t-  ■*-  Leaves  coarsely  few-toothed  or  entire  :  pedicels  more  remotely  racemose. 
++  Flowers  small,  white  :  stigma  sessile  or  nearly  so. 

4.  D.  cuneifolia,  Nutt.  Loosely  stellate-pubescent :  leaves  cuneate-obo- 
vate  to  oblanceolate  :  raceme  pedunculate  :  pods  linear-oblong,  usually  acutish, 
shortly  subappressed-hispid,  lG-50-seeded.  —  D.filicauds,  Scheele,  Linnsea,  21. 
583.     Kentucky  to  Alabama  and  west  to  southern  California. 

Var.  integrifolia.  Small  (1  or  2  inches  high)  with  small  and  mostly  entire 
leaves,  and  glabrous  pods  on  pedicels  about  a  line  long.  —  Coast  Ranges  of 
southern  California. 

Var.  platycarpa.  Pods  oblong-oval,  usually  obtuse.  —  D.  platycarpa,  Torr. 
&  Gray,  Fl.  1.  108.  D.  Rcemeriana,  Scheele,  1.  c.  Texas  to  Arizona.  Differ- 
ing only  in  the  form  of  the  pods. 

5.  D.  Sonor<e,  Greene.  Racemes  usually  nearly  sessile  and  flowers  very 
small :  pods  finely  stellate-pubescent,  narrowly  oblong,  lG-20-seeded,  on  short 
pedicels.  —  Bull.  Calif.  Acad.  2.  59.  Southern  California  and  Arizona  to  Sonora. 
The  pubescence  of  the  pods  is  the  most  constant  character  distinguishing  this 
species  from  the  last. 

6.  D.  brachycarpa,  Nutt.  Stellate  pubescence  somewhat  appressed :  leaves 
ovate  to  ovate-oblong,  the  cauline  oblong-lanceolate  or  linear  :  peduncles  short : 
flowers  very  small :  pods  narrowly  oblong,  glabrous,  1  or  2  lines  long,  10-12- 
seeded.  —  Virginia  to  Georgia,  Louisiana  and  Missouri ;  Roseberg,  Oregon. 

++  ++  Flowers  yellow,  large :  style  slender. 

7.  D.  Mogollonica,  Greene.  A  span  high,  villous  or  loosely  stellate-pubescent 
below  :  leaves  mostly  basal,  oblanceolate,  stellate-pubescent :  pods  linear  or  ob- 
long, glabrous,  4  to  8  lines  long.  —  Coult.  Bot.  Gaz.  6.  157.  Mountains  of  New 
Mexico  (Rusby,  Greene). 


OP  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  257 

peduncles  very  short ;  fruiting  raceme  about  an  inch  long  and  with  the 
pod  sparsely  pubescent:  flowers  small,  white,  the  petals  scarcely  longer 

8.  D.  (?)  asprella,  Greene.  Pubescent  with  spreading  simple  or  forked 
hairs;  scape-like  peduncles  one  to  several  :  filaments  dilated  downward:  pods 
oblong-elliptical,  somewhat  turgid,  hispid,  on  divaricate  pedicels ;  style  slender. 
—  Torr.  Bull.  9.  125.  Arizona.  A  doubtful  species  by  reason  of  the  turgid  pod 
and  dilated  filaments.     Mature  fruit  has  not  been  seen. 

*  *  High  mountain  or  northern  species:  leaves  entire  or  few-toothed :  flowers 
small,  yellow,  becoming  whitish  :  stigma  sessile. 

9.  D.  nemorosa,  Linn.  Usually  branching  below, loosely  stellate-pubescent: 
leaves  rarely  rosulate,  ovate  to  oblong-lanceolate  :  racemes  nearly  sessile :  pods 
narrowly  oblong,  or  oblong-elliptical,  acutish,  minutely  pubescent  (rarely  gla- 
brous, var.  leiocarpa, Lindbl.),  3  or  4  lines  long;  pedicels  spreading  or  divaricate, 
6  to  12  lines  long.  —  From  the  Great  Lakes  across  the  continent  to  Oregon,  and 
northward.     Europe  and  Siberia. 

10.  D.  stenoloba,  Ledeb.  Simple  or  branching  below,  villous  toward  the 
base  :  leaves  mostly  subrosulate,  oblong-obovate  or  oblanceolate,  the  1  or  2 
cauline  ovate  to  oblong-lanceolate,  mostly  entire,  usually  more  or  less  villous 
and  ciliate :  pods  linear,  acute,  glabrous,  4  to  7  lines  long,  equalling  or  exceed- 
ing the  spreading  pedicels.  —  Subalpine,  from  Colorado  to  the  Sierra  Nevada 
and  northward ;  Unalaska. 

11.  D.  Montana,  Watson.  Stellate-pubescent  throughout  and  somewhat  vil- 
lous, leafy :  racemes  nearly  sessile :  pods  linear-oblong,  finely  pubescent,  obtuse 
or  acutish,  longer  than  the  erect  or  ascending  pedicels.  —  Proc.  Am.  Acad.  14. 
289.     Northern  Colorado. 

12.  D.  crassifolia,  Graham.  Annual  or  biennial  (?),  very  slender,  glabrous 
throughout  or  the  leaves  ciliate  :  leaves  in  a  basal  tuft,  narrowly  oblanceolate  : 
peduncles  scape-like  :  pods  lanceolate  or  oblong-lanceolate,  acute,  equalling  or 
exceeding  the  spreading  pedicels.  —  Colorado  and  northward,  and  in  the  Sierra 
Nevada;  Greenland. 

§  4.  Drab.ea,  Lindl.  Perennial  caulescent  or  scapose  above  the  branching 
leafy-tufted  caudex  (sometimes  biennial  and  simple-stemmed  in  species  of 
*  *  •<-  -i- )  :  leaves  flat,  soft,  more  or  less  broad,  not  carinate. 

*   Scapose. 

i-  Flowers  yellow  :  leaves  entire  (less  than  6  lines  long). 

13.  D.  alpina,  Linn.  Caudex  much  branched,  densely  cespitose  :  leaves 
oblong-oblanceolate,  with  thick  mid  vein  at  base,  glabrous  and  villous-ciliate  or 
somewhat  villous-pubescent  with  simple  or  stellate  hairs  :  scape  pubescent : 
calyx  villous  :  pods  usually  glabrous,  ovate  to  oblong-ovate,  acute  ;  style  short ; 
stigma  broad.  —  D.  paucijiora,  R.  Br.  D.  micropetala,  Hook.  Greenland;  Arctic 
coast  and  islands  ;  Hudson's  Bay;  Rocky  Mountains  (Drummond  ;  D.  rupestris, 
£,  Hook.  Fl.  Bor.-Am.).     Northern  Europe;  Siberia. 

14.  D.  Howellii,  Watson.  Cespitose,  finely  stellate-pubescent  throughout : 
leaves  broadly  spatulate :  flowers  large,  deep  yellow  :  pods  pubescent,  some- 
what obliquely  oblong,  acute  at  each  end,  on  spreading  pedicels  ;  style  slender. 
—  Proc.  Am.  Acad.  20.  354.     Siskiyou  Mountains,  California  {Howell). 

VOL.  XXIII.  (n.  s   xv.)  17 


258  PROCEEDINGS   OP  THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

than  the  yellowish  ovate  sepals :  pods  broadly  ovate-elliptical,  acutish 
or  obtuse,  2  lines  long,  ascending  on  pedicels  about  a  line  long ;  style 

15.  D.  Lemmoni,  Watson.  High  alpine,  densely  cespitose  :  leaves  thick, 
spatulate  or  oblong-obovate,  ciliate  and  pilose  with  simple  or  forked  hairs  or 
nearly  glabrous  :  scapes  pilose :  pods  pubescent  or  glabrous,  ovate  to  broadly 
lanceolate,  somewhat  twisted,  on  slender  spreading  pedicels  ;  style  short  and 
stout.  —  Bot.  Calif.  2.  430.  D.  alpina,  var.  algida,  Bot.  Calif.  1.  29,  mainly. 
Peaks  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  of  the  Blue  Mountains,  Oregon. 

16.  D.  ventosa,  Gray.  Cespitose,  the  slender  branches  of  the  caudex  more 
or  less  densely  leafy  :  leaves  oblong-oblanceolate,  densely  stellate-pubescent  or 
glabrate :  pods  ovate  to  oblong-lanceolate,  densely  pubescent  to  glabrous,  on 
ascending  pedicels  ;  style  short  and  slender.  —  Am.  Nat.  8.  212.  D.  alpina, 
Watson,  Bot.  King,  20.  Northern  Utah  and  northwestern  Wyoming;  Stein's 
Mountain,  southeastern  Oregon. 

17.  D.  edrtcarpa,  Gray.  Densely  cespitose  and  stellate-pubescent :  leaves 
oblanceolate,  the  scapes  scarcely  longer,  few-flowered :  pods  large,  oblong- 
obovate,  acute,  glabrous;  style  slender.  —  Proc.  Am.  Acad.  6.520.  Sierra 
Nevada  {Brewer). 

-»-  -i-  Plovvers  white:  leaves  (mostly  very  small)  entire  or  rarely  few-toothed  : 

scapes  rarely  with  a  single  leaf. 

18.  D.  nivalis,  Liljeblad.  Caudex  with  numerous  slender  matted  branches : 
leaves  oblanceolate,  acutish,  entire,  with  a  stoutish  midnerve,  canescent  with 
short  dense  stellate  pubescence,  ciliate  near  the  base  if  at  all :  scapes  and  calyx 
pubescent :  pods  few  on  short  pedicels,  usually  glabrous,  oblong,  acute  at  each 
end  ;  style  short,  stout ;  stigma  2-lobed.  — D.  muricella,  Wahl.  D.  stellata,  var. 
nivalis,  Regel.  From  Greenland  and  the  Arctic  coast  to  Labrador,  Colorado, 
northern  Utah  and  Nevada,  and  British  Columbia.  Iceland,  Spitzbergen,  and 
northern  Europe.    Flowers  sometimes  slightly  tinged  with  yellow. 

Var.  elongata.  Leaves  obtuse  or  acutish :  scapes  very  slender :  pods 
long  (4  to  8  lines)  and  narrow,  on  rather  longer  pedicels.  —  D.  Icevipes,  Hook.  ? 
Rocky  Mountains,  from  British  America  to  Wyoming  and  the  Uintas  ;  Mt. 
Adams. 

19.  D.  subsessilis,  Watson.     See  page  255. 

20.  D.  Fladnizensis,  Wulf.  Leaves  more  loosely  rosulate,  narrowly  ob- 
lanceolate, usually  acute,  entire,  pilose-ciliate,  usually  sparsely  villous  or 
somewhat  stellate-pubescent,  rarely  wholly  glabrous  :  scapes  usually  gla- 
brous ;  racemes  short :  petals  often  yellowish  :  pods  glabrous,  ovate-oblong 
or  ovate,  on  short  pedicels  ;  stigma  nearly  sessile.  —  D.  androsacea  and  D. 
Lapponica,  Willd.  D.  lactea,  Adams.  D.  Wahlenbergii,  Hartm.  Greenland  to 
the  lower  St.  Lawrence,  and  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Colorado.  Europe  and 
Asia. 

Var.  cortmbosa.  Leaves  occasionally  toothed,  ciliate  and  subpubescent : 
scapes  and  sepals  usually  pubescent :  pods  stellate-pubescent ;  style  very  short. 
—  D.  corymbosa,  R.  Br.  Greenland  and  perhaps  (the  original  specimens)  the 
west  coast  of  Baffin's  Bay.  Many  of  the  specimens  from  Greenland  and  those 
from  Spitzbergen  that  have  been  placed  here  appear  to  belong,  some  to 
D.  alpina  and  others  to  D.  hirta. 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  259 

very  short  and  thick.  —  On  the  White  Mountains  of  Mono  County, 
California,  at  13,000  feet  altitude  (  W.  H.  Shockley,  July,  1886). 

*  *    Caulescent,  the  stems  few-  or  many -leaved :  leaves  entire  or  few-toothed. 

-»-  Flowers  yellow. 
++  Lower  leaves  often  an  inch  long  or  more. 

21.  D.  hyperkorea,  Desv.  Pubescence  of  very  short  brandling  hairs  : 
caudex  stout,  simple :  leaves  coarsely  toothed,  oblanceolate,  or  the  cauline 
oblong-obovate  :  corymb  broad  :  pods  obtuse,  broadly  elliptical  to  narrowly 
oblong,  usually  glabrous,  on  spreading  pedicels;  style  short. — Alaska,  from 
Sitka  to  the  Aleutian  and  St.  Paul's  Islands. 

22.  D.  chrysantha,  Watson.  Caudex  much  branched ;  stems  glabrous  or 
loosely  pubescent :  leaves  deep  green,  very  narrowly  oblanceolate  to  linear, 
rarely  few-toothed,  usually  glabrous  or  sparingly  ciliate :  pods  glabrous,  oblong 
to  oblong-lanceolate,  on  usually  short  pedicels ;  style  short,  slender.  —  Proc. 
Am.  Acad.  17.  361.     High  peaks  of  Colorado  and  Arizona. 

23.  D.  streptocarpa,  Gray.  Thinly  villous  with  long  simple  or  branched 
hairs  ;  caudex  simple  or  sparingly  branched  :  leaves  oblanceolate  to  (the  cauline) 
oblong  or  lanceolate,  rarely  toothed,  ciliate  and  villous  :  pods  lanceolate,  usually 
twisted,  glabrous  or  pubescent  on  the  margin,  exceeding  the  ascending  pedi- 
cels ;  style  slender.  —  Am.  Journ.  Sci.  2  ser.  33.  242.  Mountains  of  Colorado 
and  New  Mexico  ;  an  Arizona  form  approaches  the  next. 

24.  D.  adrea,  Vahl.  Pubescent  throughout  with  short  stellate  hairs,  occa- 
sionally subpilose :  leaves  usually  narrow,  frequently  ciliate  at  base :  pods 
lanceolate  to  linear,  acute,  rarely  glabrous  ;  style  short  and  stout,  —  otherwise 
like  the  last,  —  Greenland ;  Rocky  Mountains,  from  British  America  to  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona  ;  Mignon  Island,  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  A  form  with 
ovate  pods  occurs  in  Utah  and  Colorado. 

Var.  stylosa,  Gray.  Style  very  slender,  a  line  long.  —  New  Mexico  {Fend- 
ler).  A  doubtful  form  from  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  has  broad  ovate  and 
entire  cauline  leaves. 

++  ++  Leaves  small,  half  an  inch  long  or  less. 

25.  D.  aureola,  Watson.  Eather  densely  stellate-pubescent  throughout; 
caudex  simple  or  branched  ;  stem  stout,  simple  :  leaves  numerous,  oblanceolate, 
obtuse,  entire,  the  cauline  oblong :  raceme  short  and  dense ;  calyx  glabrous  ; 
pods  broadly  oblong,  obtuse,  pubescent,  flat,  on  short  spreading  pedicels ;  style 
short  and  stout.  —  Bot.  Calif.  2.  430.     Lassen's  Peak,  California. 

26.  D.  corrugata,  Watson,  1.  c.  Pubescent  throughout  with  loose  branch- 
ing hairs  ;  stems  branching  from  the  base,  very  leafy  :  leaves  entire,  oblong- 
oblanceolate  :  calyx  pubescent  :  pods  lanceolate  to  broadly  oblong,  acute  or 
obtuse,  much  corrugated  and  twisted ;  style  long,  attenuate  to  a  minute  stigma. 
—  San  Bernardino  Mountains,  California. 

•»-  -t-  Flowers  white. 

•m-  Stems  simple  or  sparingly  branched. 

=  Cauline  leaves  usually  several  to  many. 

27.  D.  incana,  Linn.  Stellate-pubescent  throughout,  usually  loosely  ;  caudex 
often  simple  :  leaves  few-toothed  or  entire,  oblanceolate  or  the  cauline  Ianceo- 


260  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

Draba  Breweri.  Dwarf  and  alpine,  biennial  or  a  short-lived 
perennial,  the  very  shortly  branched  caudex  sending  up  2  to  6  or 
more  simple  leafy  stems  1  to  3  inches  high,  canescent  throughout 
with  a  hue  dense  stellate  pubescence :  basal  leaves  crowded,  oblong 

late  to  ovate:  pods  oblong  to  lanceolate,  usually  acute  and  flat,  glabrous  or 
finely  pubescent,  usually  suberect  on  ascending  pedicels ;  style  very  short.  — 
D.  contorta  and  D.  confusa,  Ehrh.  Greenland  to  Labrador,  New  Brunswick  and 
northern  Vermont,  and  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Colorado  and  British  Colum- 
bia. Europe  and  Asia.  Most  western  specimens  are  more  finely  and  densely 
pubescent  than  is  usual. 

Var.  arabisans.  Caudex  much  branched  :  pod  glabrous,  acuminate  or  acute, 
often  twisted ;  style  longer.  —  D.  arabisans,  Michx.  D.  Canadensis,  Brunet,  a  form 
with  ovate  pods.  Labrador  to  northern  Vermont  and  the  shores  of  the  Great 
Lakes.     Grading  indefinitely  into  the  typical  form. 

28.  D.  Breweri,  Watson.     See  above. 

29.  D.  borealis,  DC.  Loosely  stellate-pubescent  throughout,  more  or  less 
cespitose  :  leaves  ovate  to  oblong-ovate :  pods  broad,  ovate  to  oblong  ovate, 
flat,  exceeding  the  pedicels;  style  short  and  stout.  —  D.  Unalaschkiana,  DC. 
D.  incana,  var.  borealis,  Torr.  &  Gray.  Alaska  and  adjacent  islands  to  British 
Columbia  and  the  northern  Arctic  coast.  Kamtchatka.  A  variety  with  longer 
pedicels  (D.  Sachalinensis,  Schmidt)  is  found  in  Japan. 

=  =  Cauline  leaves  usually  one  to  three. 

30.  D.  hirta,  Linn.  Loosely  and  often  sparingly  stellate-pubescent :  caudex 
branched :  leaves  narrowly  oblanceolate,  or  the  cauline  ovate,  frequently  more 
or  less  ciliate  :  pods  oblong-lanceolate  to  -ovate,  often  twisted,  glabrous  or 
sparingly  pubescent;  style  short  and  stout.  —  D.  oblongata  and  D.  rupestris,"R.  Br. 
D.  gracilis,  Ledeb.     Greenland  to  Alaska.     Northern  Europe  and  Asia. 

Var.  arctica.  Densely  tufted  and  more  densely  pubescent:  leaves  short, 
the  cauline  ovate:  pods  pubescent.  —  D.  arctica,  Vahl.  Greenland  and  Grin- 
nell  Land  (  Greeley).     Spitzbergen. 

++  ++  Stems  diffusely  branched  above. 

31.  D.  ramosissima,  Desv.  Thinly  stellate-pubescent,  the  caudex  much 
branched :  leaves  oblanceolate,  laciniately  toothed :  pods  oval  to  narrowly  ob- 
long, pubescent,  twisted;  style  long  and  slender.  —  Mountains  of  Virginia  and 
Tennessee  ;  cliffs  of  Kentucky  River. 

§  5.  Aizopsis,  DC.  Scapose  cespitose  perennials:  leaves  linear,  entire,  be- 
coming more  or  less  rigid,  carinate  :  flowers  yellow. 

32.  D.  glacialis,  Adams.  Alpine  or  subalpine  :  leaves  linear  or  linear- 
oblanceolate,  more  or  less  loosely  (or  densely)  stellate-pubescent,  sometimes 
ciliate  at  base:  pods  ovate  to  ovate-oblong,  acute  (rarely  narrowly  oblong  and 
acute  at  both  ends),  usually  finely  pubescent ;  style  short.  —  D.  oligosperma,  Hook. 
D.  alpina,  var.  glacialis,  Dickie.  From  the  arctic  regions  to  Colorado,  Utah, 
and  California.     Siberia  and  Spitzbergen.     Quite  variable. 

Var.  pectinata.  Alpine  and  very  densely  cespitose,  the  short  rigid  leaves 
glabrous  or  nearly  so  and  ciliate  with  long  rigid  hairs.  — ■  D.  densifolia,  Nutt. 
From  northern  Utah  to  the  Sierra  Nevada. 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  261 

to  linear-oblong,  obtuse,  entire  or  rarely  sparingly  toothed,  2  to  4  lines 
long,  sometimes  slightly  ciliate  at  base,  the  cauline  few  (2  to  4), 
oblong-ovate  :  flowers  small,  white,  the  sepals  oblong,  herbaceous  : 
pods  linear-oblong,  2  or  3  lines  long,  obtusish,  pubescent,  ascending 
on  short  pedicels ;  stigma  sessile  or  nearly  so.  —  On  Mt.  Dana,  at 
12,000  feet  altitude  ( W.  H.  Brewer,  1863);  White  Mountains,  Mono 
County,  at  13,000  feet  (IF.  H.  ShocMey,  July,  1886). 

Cheirantiius  occidentalis.  Annual,  low  (6  inches  high  or 
less),  erect,  simple  or  branching  from  the  base :  leaves  linear-  or  nar- 
rowly oblanceolate :  flowers  lemon  or  orange-color,  6  lines  long :  pods 
2  to  3i  inches  long  by  H  lines  broad,  beaked  by  a  style  2  lines  long, 
ascending  on  pedicels  about  3  lines  long :  seeds  narrowly  winged.  — 
Erysimum  asperum,  var.  (?)  pumilum,  Watson,  Bot.  King's  Expl.  24. 
In  Washington  Territory  (Wallawalla,  Lyall ;  Klickitat  County, 
Suksdorf),  Oregon  (Wasco  County,  Suksdorf),  and  northern  Nevada 
(near  Carson  City,  Watsoii).  Resembling  dwarf  states  of  Erysimum 
pumilum,  to  which  it  has  been  referred  in  the  want  of  fruiting  speci- 
mens, which  are  first  collected  by  Mr.  W.  C.  Suksdorf. 

Caulanthus  Lemmoni.  A  stout  branching  annual,  1  or  2  feet 
high,  glaucous  and  glabrous  or  sparingly  hispid  with  spreading  simple 
or  branched  hairs :  cauline  leaves  broadly  auriculate-clasping,  lanceo- 
late, acuminate,  entire,  or  the  lower  somewhat  oblanceolate  and 
toothed :  racemes  open,  elongated,  the  streptanthoid  flowers  (sepals 
more  or  less  brownish  purple)  spreading  or  reflexed  on  usually  hispid 
pedicels :  petals  undulate,  6  or  8  lines  long,  the  blade  not  broader  than 
the  claw,  white  veined  with  brown :  pods  subterete  with  nerved  valves, 
2-J-  to  5  inches  long  by  1 J  lines  broad,  ascending  ;  style  very  variable  in 
length  ;  stigmas  divaricate.  —  Near  Cholame,  northeastern  part  of  San 
Luis  Obispo  County,  Calif.  (J.  G.  and  »S.  A.  Lemmon,  June,  1887). 

Silene  Luisana.  Perennial,  glandular-pubescent  throughout,  a 
foot  high :  leaves  very  narrowly  linear,  2  inches  long  or  less :  pedun- 
cles 1-2-flowered,  equalling  the  floral  leaves :  calyx  narrowly  cylin- 
drical, 6  or  7  lines  long,  the  teeth  oblong-ovate,  membranously 
margined  and  ciliate ;  petals  white  (?),  9  lines  long,  the  oblong  blade 
bifid  to  the  middle,  with  or  without  small  lateral  teeth,  the  claw  nar- 
rowly auriculate,  and  the  narrowly  oblong  appendages  acute  and  more 
or  less  lacerately  toothed  ;  filaments  naked  :  capsule  subcylindric,  upon 
a  stipe  \\  lines  long,  the  small  flattened  seeds  tuberculate,  scarcely 
crested.  —  Nearest  to  S.  verecunda.  On  rocks  near  San  Luis  Obispo 
(J.  G.  and  S.  A.  Lemmon,  n.  4557,  June,  1887)  ;  also  near  Tolon,  in 
Monterey  County  (T.  S.  Brandegee,  1886). 


262  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

Calandrinia  Howellii.  Closely  resembling  C.  Cotyledon:  leaves 
more  narrowly  spatulate,  3  inches  long  or  less,  entire  at  the  summit, 
the  narrowly  scarious  margin  crisped-undulate  :  scapes  and  inflores- 
cence as  in  C.  Cotyledon,  but  the  flowers  sessile  or  nearly  so ;  petals 
6  to  8  ;  stamens  5  to  7,  the  narrow  filaments  slightly  coherent  below  : 
ovary  2-4-valved  ;  seeds  4  to  10. — On  the  Deer  Creek  Mountains 
in  Josephine  County,  Oregon  (Thomas  Howell,  July,  1887);  also  in 
cultivation  at  Cambridge.  The  leaves  of  C.  Cotyledon  are  not  at  all 
crisped  upon  the  margin,  and  have  usually  a  few  small  teeth  at  the 
summit.  The  seeds  of  both  species  are  ecarunculate,  black  and 
shiniug. 

Sidalcea  Hendersoni.  Tall  and  apparently  perennial  (3  or  4 
feet  high),  glabrous  throughout,  the  stem  simple  or  nearly  so :  leaves 
palmately  7-cleft  to  below  the  middle,  the  mostly  broad  segments 
coarsely  lobed  and  toothed,  the  upper  leaves  3-5-parted  and  the  seg- 
ments narrower :  flowers  large  (9  to  12  lines  long),  in  a  loose  raceme, 
the  pedicels  (1  to  3  lines  long),  shorter  than  the  linear  bracts:  calyx 
large  Q  inch  long  in  fruit),  the  lobes  ovate-lanceolate,  shortly  acumi- 
nate :  carpels  few  (8),  smooth  and  glabrous,  2  lines  long  including 
the  conspicuous  linear  beak.  —  Near  the  shore  of  Clatsop  Bay,  Oregon 
(L.  F.  Henderson,  July,  1887). 

Trifolium  Howellii.  Perennial  (?),  glabrous  throughout,  the 
stout  stems  2  feet  long :  stipules  large,  lanceolate  to  ovate ;  petioles 
short ;  leaflets  mostly  cuneate-oblanceolate,  1  i-  to  3  lines  long,  irregularly 
toothed  :  peduncles  axillary,  exceeding  the  leaves  :  heads  naked,  ovate 
or  oblong,  the  short-pedicellate  flowers  soon  reflexed:  calyx-teeth  nar- 
row, about  equalling  the  tube  ;  corolla  4  or  5  lines  long :  pod  2-ovuled, 
1-seeded,  a  little  exceeding  the  calyx.  —  Of  the  T.  ciliatum  group.  In 
the  Siskiyou  Mountains,  southern  Oregon  (Thomas  Howell,  July, 
1887). 

Astragalus  sylvaticus.  Near  A.  tricarinatus  and  A.  albens : 
glabrous,  the  decumbent  or  ascending  stems  a  foot  long  or  more  :  leaf- 
lets 8  to  10  pairs,  oblong,  retuse,  4  to  9  lines  long:  peduncles  equal- 
ling or  exceeding  the  leaves  ;  racemes  small,  close  (about  an  inch 
long)  :  calyx  very  slightly  pubescent,  the  acuminate  teeth  about  equal- 
ling the  campanulate  tube ;  petals  ochroleucous,  3  or  4  lines  long :  pod 
chartaceous,  sessile,  linear  and  more  or  less  curved,  compressed,  2-celled 
by  the  intrusion  of  the  dorsal  suture,  the  ventral  acute,  6  to  8  lines 
long  by  1^  broad.  —  Near  Glendale  in  southern  Oregon,  "in  open 
gravelly  ground"  (L.  F.  Henderson)  or  "in  dense  forests"  (Tlwmas 
Howell,  June,  1887,  —  who  suggests  the  name). 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  263 

Astragalus  oxtphysus,  Gray.  This  species  is  described  as  hav- 
ing inflated  pods.  Fruiting  specimens  have  recently  been  collected  by 
Mr.  Lemrnon  in  the  northern  part  of  San  Luis  Obispo  County,  in  which 
the  pods  are  much  compressed  and  distended  only  partially  in  the 
middle,  both  sutures  being  acute  and  the  ventral  one  straight.  The 
stipe  is  villous  and  as  much  exserted  from  the  narrow  calyx-tube  as  in 
A.  leucopsis,  which  the  species  much  resembles  in  appearance. 

Lathtrus  cinctus.  Sparingly  pubescent  throughout:  stem  stout, 
angled  :  stipules  foliaceous,  semihastate,  lanceolate,  nearly  an  inch  lon^, 
the  broad  basal  lobe  coarsely  toothed;  leaflets  10  to  15  pairs,  nar- 
rowly oblong,  obtuse,  mucronate,  1  to  U  inches  long:  peduncles  much 
shorter  than  the  leaves,  few-flowered  :  calyx  short,  the  longer  teeth 
equalling  the  tube  ;  petals  6  lines  long  or  more  :  pod  nearly  straight, 
broad,  H  inches  long  by  5  or  6  inches  wide,  3-5-seeded:  seeds  orbicu- 
lar, nearly  surrounded  by  the  hilum,  2^  lines  broad. — Near  Tolon, 
Monterey  County,  California  (T.  S.  Brandegee,  1886).  A  very  dis- 
tinctly marked  species  ;  turning  black  in  drying. 

Lathtrus  palustris,  Linn.,  var.  (?)  graminifolius.  Leaves 
very  narrow  and  elongated,  2  to  4  inches  long  and  often  only  a  line 
wide  or  less ;  flowers  variable  in  size  and  color,  often  yellow.  —  Fre- 
quent from  New  Mexico  to  Arizona  and  northern  Mexico. 

Ivesia  Shockleti.  Alpine,  dwarf  and  cespitose,  the  stout  much- 
branched  caudex  compacted  with  the  persistent  remains  of  dead  leaves, 
finely  pubescent  throughout  and  more  or  less  glandular  :  leaves  1  to  1  \ 
inches  long  or  less,  the  petiole  usually  ciliate  and  somewhat  villous  at 
base  ;  leaflets  3-parted,  approximate  or  imbricated,  rarely  a  line  long, 
often  setosely  tipped :  inflorescence  open,  few-flowered  :  calyx  small, 
campanulate,  becoming  rotate,  the  deltoid  lobes  exceeding  the  white 
spatulate  petals:  stamens  5  or  sometimes  10:  pistils  few  (6  or  less) 
upon  a  villous  receptacle.  —  Summit  of  Silver  Peak,  Alpine  County, 
California  (/.  G.  Lemrnon,  1873)  ;  in  the  White  Mountains,  Mono 
County,  at  13,000  feet  altitude  (W.  H.  Shockley,  1886). 

Pyrus  (Sorbus)  occidentalis.  A  shrub,  2  feet  (Sulsdorf)  to 
4  or  6  feet  high  (Brewer),  glabrous  or  very  nearly  so :  leaflets  3  or  4 
(very  rarely  5)  pairs,  oblong-elliptical,  obtuse,  sometimes  mucronate, 
dentate  usually  only  toward  the  apex  (rarely  below  the  middle)  or 
sometimes  entire,  1  to  2  inches  long,  the  rhachis  3  or  4  inches  lono-; 
cyme  small  and  usually  rather  few-flowered  :  calyx  glabrous:  fruit 
pyriform,  red,  4  lines  long  :  seeds  semicircular  in  outline,  1^  lines  long. 
—  In  the  mountains  from  Washington  Territory  to  California  (Cas- 
cade Mountains,  Lyall ;  Mt.  Adams,  at  5-6,000  feet  altitude,  Suksdorf ; 


264  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

"  Oregon,"  148  Hall ;  at  Summit  in  the  Sierra  Nevada,  Bolander  ;  on 
the  Big  Tree  road  at  6,000  feet  altitude,  1960  Brewer,  and  in  Eb- 
bett's  Pass  at  6,500  to  8,500  feet,  2091  Brewer).  The  Californian 
specimens  have  the  leaves  more  toothed  and  the  cymes  larger  than  the 
more  northern  ones.  It  is  said  by  Mr.  Suksdorf  to  grow  at  a  higher 
altitude  than  P.  sambucifolia,  the  fruit  differing  in  shape  and  darker 
colored.  The  seeds  are  shorter  and  proportionally  broader  than  those 
of  P.  sambucifolia.  It  appears  to  be  the  only  form  that  has  been  col- 
lected in  California. 

Saxifraga  occidentalis.  Resembling  S.  Virginiensis  ;  leaves 
often  more  or  less  densely  rufous-tomentose  beneath  :  inflorescence 
open,  glabrous  or  somewhat  glandular-pubescent :  calyx  free  from  the 
pistils,  cleft  nearly  or  quite  to  the  base,  the  segments  very  obtuse,  not 
reflexed  ;  petals  white,  oblong-obovate,  obtuse ;  filaments  slender : 
seeds  with  a  loose  smooth  testa.  —  From  the  Rocky  Mountains  of 
British  America  (Drummond)  to  British  Columbia  and  Vancouver 
Island  (Lyall,  Macoun),  Oregon  (Cusick,  Henderson,  Howell),  and  the 
northern  Sierra  Nevada  (Chico,  Mrs.  J.  Bidwell,  Gray).  In  S.  Vir- 
giniensis the  base  of  the  calyx  is  somewhat  broader  and  the  segments 
acutish,  the  filaments  are  somewhat  dilated  at  base,  and  the  seeds  are 
muricate-costate.  Though  it  varies  in  pubescence  the  leaves  appear 
to  be  never  densely  tomentose  beneath,  and  it  is  probably  not  found  far 
west  of  the  Mississippi.  S.  eriophora  of  Arizona  has  seeds  similar  to 
those  of  S.  occidentalis  and  is  a  close  ally,  but  it  differs  in  the  cam- 
panulate  short-lobed  calyx  which  is  adnate  to  the  ovary.  The  seeds 
of  S.  rejlexa  are  somewhat  tuberculate-costate.  The  specific  name  is 
given  to  the  species  as  the  western  correlative  of  the  common  eastern 
S.  Virginiensis. 

HARTWRIGHTIA,  Gray.  A  new  genus  of  Eupatoriacece,  of  the 
subtribe  Piqueriece.  Heads  few-flowered.  Involucre  turbinate-cam- 
panulate,  of  few  narrow  and  nearly  equal  herbaceous  bracts,  somewhat 
in  two  rows,  the  inner  more  chaffy.  Receptacle  convex,  with  a  few 
bracts  near  the  margin  resembling  the  inner  involucral  ones.  Co- 
rolla regular,  the  very  short  tube  and  broadly  funnelform  throat  little 
longer  than  the  obtuse  lobes  of  the  limb.  Anthers  exappendiculate, 
obtuse,  truncate  at  base.  Style-branches  long-exserted,  linear,  slightly 
thickened  above.  Achenes  obpyramidal,  acutely  5-angled,  contracted 
at  the  summit,  where  the  margin  is  callously  lobed  by  a  thickening  of 
the  angles.  Pappus  none.  —  A  perennial  erect  herb,  with  alternate 
petiolate  entire  leaves,  and  loose  paniculate  corymbs  of  small  heads. 
Flowers  purplish. 


OP    ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  265 

H.  Floridana,  Gray.  Glabrous,  but  resinous-atomiferous  through- 
out even  to  the  corolla  and  achenes,  2  to  4  feet  high,  slender,  branch- 
ing above  :  leaves  distant,  narrowly  oblong-oblanceolate  or  the  upper 
linear,  attenuate  to  a  long  petiole,  obtuse  or  acutish,  on  the  branches 
much  reduced  and  linear  or  spatulate :  heads  i'ew,  7-10-flowered,  2 
lines  long;  involucral  bracts  8  or  10,  obtuse:  achenes  smooth,  equal- 
ling the  involucre.  —  In  sphagnous  swamps,  Volusia  County,  Florida  ; 
discovered  by  Dr.  S.  Hart  Wright,  of  Penn  Yan,  New  Y«ork,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1886,  by  whom  it  was  sent  to  Dr.  Gray.  It  was  recognized  as  a 
new  genus,  but  description  and  publication  were  delayed  until  more 
material  could  be  examined.  This  was  received  only  during  Dr. 
Gray's  last  illness,  and  at  Dr.  Wright's  request  the  genus  is  now  pub- 
lished. Dr.  Gray  left  no  notes  upon  its  characters,  but  it  is  evidently 
closely  allied  to  Gymnocoronis  and  Adenostemma,  from  which  it  is  distin- 
guished by  habit,  the  alternate  entire  leaves,  the  narrower  styles,  the 
smooth  thin-angled  achenes,  and  the  few  bracts  upon  the  receptacle 
embracing  the  outer  ones.  It  is  the  only  member  of  the  Piqueriece 
that  has  been  detected  within  our  limits. 

Chaptalia  Seemannii,  Benth.  &  Hook.  Closely  resembling  C. 
nutans  in  appearance,  from  which  it  is  distinguished  by  a  number  of 
short  appressed  distant  bracts  upon  the  scape,  the  "  heads  never  nod- 
ding," and  the  short  stout  beaks  of  the  achenes.  This  species  has 
been  found  during  the  past  season  by  Mr.  Pringle  in  Chihuahua, 
and  proves  to  be  the  same  as  specimens  collected  in  New  Mexico 
{Greene)  and  Arizona  (2789  Lemmon),  which  are  referred  in  the 
Synoptical  Flora  to  C.  nutans. 

Pentstemon  Shockleyi.  Somewhat  woody  at  base  and  branch- 
ing, the  branches  erect,  H-  feet  high,  finely  puberulent  throughout: 
leaves  nearly  uniform  in  size,  oblong-ovate,  obtuse  or  acute,  sessile  or 
nearly  so,  undulate,  entire,  3  to  5  lines  long,  the  floral  gradually 
smaller :  flowers  mostly  solitary  and  nearly  sessile  in  the  axils ;  calyx 
3  lines  long,  the  lobes  lanceolate,  acuminate ;  corolla  purplish,  5  lines 
long,  only  slightly  dilated  above  and  the  oblong  obtuse  lobes  nearly 
equal ;  sterile  filament  beardless :  capsule  equalling  or  a  little  exceed- 
ing the  calyx.  —  On  Miller  Mountain,  Esmeralda  County,  Nevada,  at 
8,000  feet  altitude  (  W.  H.  Shockley,  1886).  Of  the  P.  deustus  group  ; 
strongly  marked  by  its  small  undulate  leaves,  its  strict  subspicate 
inflorescence,  and  very  small  narrow  flowers. 

Eriogonum  pendulum.  Near  E.  lachnogynum,  a  tall  perennial, 
woody  and  branching  at  base,  densely  white-tomentose  throughout,  the 
scattered  oblong-oblanceolate  obtuse  leaves  (1  to  2  J  inches  long)  and 


266  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

foliaceous  bracts  subglabrate  above  :  the  broad  inflorescence  several 
times  di-  or  trichotomous  upon  naked  peduncles  ;  pedicels  mostly  elon- 
gated and  naked;  involucres  at  first  nodding,  campanulate  (1^  to  2 
lines  long),  the  deltoid  teeth  erect :  flowers  very  small,  densely  tomen- 
tose,  slightly  exserted.  —  Near  Waldo,  southern  Oregon  ( T.  Howell, 
July,  1887). 

Eriogonum  (§  Virgata)  cithar^eforme.  Annual,  prostrate  or 
procumbent,  branching  from  the  base,  mostly'  glabrous  excepting  the 
floccose-woolly  lower  surface  of  the  leaves  ;  stems  a  foot  high  or  less, 
several  times  2-3-plurichotomous,  the  lower  bracts  foliaceous,  the 
upper  small  and  triangular :  lower  leaves  4  inches  long  or  less,  undu- 
late, dilated  and  3-5-nerved  at  the  summit,  the  rounded  blade  abruptly 
contracted  into  the  long  winged  petiole  :  involucres  glabrous,  broadly 
turbinate,  with  broad  teeth,  1  to  \\  lines  long;  flowers  rose-color,  a 
line  long,  the  segments  spatulate-obovate. — Nearest  to  E.  gracile. 
Found  by  J.  G.  Lemrnon  (n.  1584)  on  Baron  Schroeder's  ranch,  30 
miles  north  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  in  June,  1887. 

Tillandsia  (Diaphoranthema)  Wilsoni.  Stem  simple,  very 
short  (about  \  inch):  leaves  numerous,  1  to  3  or  4  inches  long,  grad- 
ually narrowed  from  the  clasping  base  to  the  long-attenuate  apex, 
channelled  above,  more  or  less  hoary  with  minute  appressed  peltate 
brown-centred  scales :  peduncle  very  slender,  recurved,  about  equal- 
ling the  leaves,  with  2  distinct  bracts,  probably  1-3 -flowered:  flowers 
and  capsules  not  seen.  —  Abundant  upon  dead  branches  of  the  red 
cedar  in  a  hummock  skirting  the  Pithlachascotee  River  in  Hernando 
County,  Florida,  about  two  miles  above  its  mouth,  where  it  was 
discovered,  in  1887,  by  Dr.  W.  P.  Wilson,  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  It  is  in  cultivation  at  Cambridge,  but  has  not  yet 
flowered  ;  very  distinct  from  all  our  other  species. 

Brodi^ea  Hendersoni.  Closely  related  to  B.  Bridgesii:  scape 
and  leaves  about  a  foot  high,  the  leaves  3  to  5  lines  broad :  pedicels 
about  an  inch  long :  corolla  salmon-color  with  often  broad  brown- 
purple  nerves,  6  to  12  lines  long,  the  narrowly  turbinate  tube  shorter 
than  or  barely  equalling  the  limb :  stamens  in  one  row  at  the  throat, 
the  slender  equal  filaments  scarcely  or  but  slightly  broader  near  the 
insertion,  somewhat  wing-dilated  below  within  the  tube ;  anthers  very 
short :  capsule  ovate,  shorter  than  the  stipe.  —  Near  Ashland,  Jackson 
County,  Oregon  (L.  F.  Henderson,  July,  1884  and  1886). 

Calochortus  (Mariposa)  Howellii.  Of  the  C.  nitidus  group; 
stem  erect,  a  foot  high  or  more,  1-2-flowered  :  leaves  very  narrow, 
the  cauline  (one  and  a  floral  pair)  short ;  sepals  ovate,  shortly  acumi- 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  267 

nate ;  petals  yellowish-white,  an  inch  long,  denticulate,  slightly  ciliate 
near  the  base,  covered  within  with  short  crisped  hairs,  those  above 
the  gland  denser  and  brown-purple ;  gland  transversely  oblong,  densely 
covered  with  short  yellow  hairs :  anthers  oblong-lanceolate,  acute  and 
apiculate,  3  lines  long :  capsule  elliptical,  acute,  9  lines  long.  — 
Found  near  Waldo,  Oregon,  in  1884,  and  at  Roseburg  in  1887,  by 
Thomas  Howell. 

Juncus  Oreganus.  Near  J.  supiniformis :  stems  numerous  from 
very  slender  matted  rootstocks,  low  (a  span  high  or  much  less),  very 
slender,  exceeding  the  very  narrow  leaves,  simply  paniculate :  heads 
few-flowered,  often  proliferous :  sepals  nearly  equal,  lanceolate,  acute, 
twice  longer  than  the  six  stamens  ;  filaments  about  equalling  the 
anthers  :  capsule  dark  brown,  acutish,  mucronate,  at  length  nearly 
twice  longer  than  the  sepals  (2^  lines  long);  seeds  rather  turgid,  about 
20-costate,  with  transverse  lines  between  the  costae.  —  In  bogs  at 
Ilwasco,  southern  Oregon  (L.  F.  Henderson,  1886).  Differing  from 
J.  supiniformis  in  its  comparatively  shorter  leaves,  proliferous  habit, 
hexandrous  flowers,  often  larger  capsules,  and  more  turgid  and  more 
strongly  marked  seeds,  which  in  J.  supiniformis  are  narrowly  oblong, 
and  faintly  12-15-striate  without  cross-markings. 


2.  Some  New  Species  of  Mexican  plants,  chiefly  of  Mr.  C.  6r. 
Pringles  collection  in  the  mountains  of  Chihuahua,  in  1887. 

Thalictrum  grandifoltum.  Tall  and  glabrous  or  "  sometimes 
pubescent : "  leaves  ample,  3-4-ternate,  petiolate,  with  dilated  stip- 
ules;  leaflets  very  large  (1  to  2|  inches  long),  somewhat  obliquely 
rounded,  often  cordate  (or  the  uppermost  cuneate)  at  base,  obtusely 
lobed,  the  prominent  veins  beneath  with  scattered  short  stout  curved 
hairs  :  inflorescence  dioecious,  open  and  spreading,  somewhat  leafy- 
bracteate ;  pedicels  elongated,  nodding  at  the  summit :  carpels  2  A  lines 
long,  semicircular,  beaked  by  the  short  stout  base  of  the  very  long  (3 
or  4  lines)  filiform  style,  compressed,  faintly  and  irregularly  nerved : 
seed  filling  the  cavity,  flattened-subovate.  —  Collected  by  Mr.  Pringle 
(n.  1513)  under  cliffs  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua,  Oct.,  1887. 

Thalictrum  pixnatum.  Glabrous  and  glaucous,  slender,  scarcely 
2  feet  hish,  from  a  fascicled  tubero-fibrous  root :  leaves  lanceolate  in 
outline,  2^  inches  long  or  less,  very  shortly  petiolate  and  estipulate, 
pinnate  with  about  7  (or  fewer)  pairs  of  divisions,  the  lower  divisions 
ternate  with  small  lobed  leaflets,  the  upper  reduced  to  a  single  3-lobed 


268  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

leaflet :  flowers  dioecious  ;  sepals  of  the  fertile  flowers  very  small : 
stigmas  short  and  rather  thick ;  achenes  ovate,  about  a  line  long,  un- 
dulately  ribbed,  the  ovate  seed  filling  the  cavity.  —  On  pine  plains  at 
the  eastern  base  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua ;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n. 
1181),  Sept.,  1887. 

Thalictrum  Wrightii,  Gray.  Mr.  Pringle  also  collected  in  the 
Sierra  Madre  specimens  of  this  species,  which  accord  in  every  way 
With  Wright's  original  specimens  from  Sonora.  It  appears  to  be 
clearly  distinguishable  from  all  forms  of  T.  Fendleri  by  the  very 
prominent  reticulate  venation  of  the  leaflets. 

Delphinium  viride.  Glaucous  ;  root  rather  thick,  branching ; 
stem  about  2  feet  high,  glabrous :  leaves  pubescent,  pedately  cleft, 
with  segments  acutely  lobed,  the  upper  distant,  more  deeply  divided 
and  segments  narrower:  raceme  few-flowered,  the  pedicels  (1  or  2 
inches  long)  glabrous  or  more  or  less  reflexed-pubescent :  calyx  pu- 
bescent, yellowish  green,  the  lanceolate  sepals  6  lines,  and  the  stout 
nearly  straight  spur  about  10  lines  long;  petals  purple,  3  lines  long, 
the  lateral  with  an  oblong-lanceolate  entire  or  cleft  villous  blade  : 
capsules  very  finely  pubescent :  seeds  large,  marginately  angled,  with 
a  close  dark  and  somewhat  rugose  testa.  —  On  gravelly  bluffs  of 
streams  at  the  east  base  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua ;  C.  G. 
Pringle  (n.  1185),  Sept.,  1887.  Peculiar  in  its  green  calyx  and  short 
purple  petals. 

Helianthemdm  Pringlei.  Puberulent  throughout;  stems  her- 
baceous,  erect,  a  foot  high,  branching  above :  leaves  oblanceolate,  sca- 
brous on  the  margin,  an  inch  long  by  a  line  or  two  wide,  the  upper 
much  reduced :  inflorescence  open,  the  slender  pedicels  jointed  usually 
near  the  middle ;  flowers  perfect ;  sepals  2  lines  long  or  more,  the 
outer  shorter  and  linear,  the  inner  ovate,  acute,  purplish  ;  petals 
broadly  flabelliform,  entire,  4  lines  long :  stamens  20  to  25 :  capsule 
triangular-globose,  a  little  shorter  than  the  calyx.  —  On  pine  plains  at 
the  base  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1186), 
Sept.,  1887. 

Helianthemum  Chihuahuense.  Villous  throughout ;  stems 
also  finely  pubescent,  numerous,  herbaceous  or  somewhat  woody  at 
base,  6  inches  high  :  leaves  oblong-oblanceolate,  about  9  lines  long  by 
2  broad,  with  much  smaller  ones  fascicled  in  the  axils  :  flowers  in 
short  few-flowered  axillary  and  terminal  corymbs,  on  short  pedicels, 
jointed  near  the  middle  and  bracteolate  or  at  the  base  and  naked, 
perfect,  dimorphous,  the  lower  apetalous  and  octandrous,  the  upper 
with  emarginate  petals  (4  lines  long)  and  25  to  30  stamens  ;  sepals 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  269 

2  lines  long,  the  outer  linear,  the  inner  ovate,  acute  :  capsule  nearly 
equalling  the  calyx.  —  In  the  same  region  ;  C.  G.  Pringle  (u.  1187), 
Oct.,  1887. 

Silene  Pringlei.  Finely  roughish-tomentose  and  subglandular, 
slender,  erect,  1  to  3  feet  high  :  leaves  linear-lanceolate,  acuminate, 
narrowed  to  the  base,  3  to  7  inches  long :  inflorescence  more  or  less 
elongated,  the  peduncles  at  each  node  1-3-flowered,  erect,  slender : 
calyx  narrow,  10-nerved,  7  or  8  lines  long,  the  ovate  teeth  fimbriate- 
ciliate ;  petals  an  inch  long,  dull  brownish-purple  (?),  auricles  promi- 
nent, appendages  large  and  saccate,  entire,  the  blade  bifid  to  below 
the  middle  with  a  tooth  on  each  side :  stamens  and  styles  scarcely 
exserted :  capsule  oblong-ovate,  stipitate  :  seeds  finely  tuberculate.  — 
On  cool  slopes  at  the  base  of  cliffs  in  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua ; 
C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1190),  Oct.,  1887. 

Cerastiuji  Madrense.  Perennial  (?),  a  foot  high  or  more,  viscid- 
pubescent  throughout :  leaves  mostly  radical,  oblong-  to  narrowly 
oblanceolate,  2  inches  long,  glabrous  above,  sparsely  villous  beneath 
and  villous-ciliate,  the  cauline  few  and  distant,  linear-lanceolate  to 
linear :  inflorescence  cymosely  paniculate,  the  flowers  on  slender 
pedicels  an  inch  long,  nodding  in  fruit ;  bracts  small :  fruiting  calyx 
2|  to  3|  lines  long,  the  exserted  capsule  slightly  curved.  —  On  the 
cool  summits  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua ;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n. 
1504),  Oct.,  1887. 

Malvastrum  jacens,  Watson.  An  erect  form  of  this  with  more 
deeply  lobed  leaves  was  collected  by  Mr.  Pringle  (n.  1199)  on  sandy 
stream-banks  in  the  Sierra  Madre.  This  species  is  referred  by 
Dr.  Gray  (Proc.  Amer.  Acad.  22.  288)  to  M.  Peruvianum,  from 
which  it  differs  especially  in  its  fascicled  clusters  of  flowers  in  the  axils 
or  on  short  peduncles,  not  "  at  length  evolute  into  unilateral  spikes," 
and  in  the  fewer  (6,  rarely  8)  and  more  turgid  carpels. 

Hibiscus  spiralis,  Cav.  ?  Collected  by  Mr.  Pringle  (n.  1452) 
in  the  valley  of  Mexico  ;  differing  from  H.  tubiflorus,  DC,  chiefly  in 
the  more  shrubby  habit,  the  small  leaves  more  cuneate  at  base,  and 
the  shorter  blunt  lobes  of  the  calyx. 

Linum  Pringlei.  Biennial  (or  sometimes  perennial  ?),  erect  and 
rather  strictly  branched  from  the  base,  the  stems  with  slender  ascend- 
ing branches  above,  glabrous  and  glaucous  :  leaves  numerous,  erect 
and  more  or  less  imbricated,  without  glandular  stipules,  oblong- 
oblanceolate,  acute,  6  lines  long  or  less  :  inflorescence  loose ;  pedicels 
slender :  sepals  lanceolate,  carinate,  slightly  scabrous  on  the  margin, 
1|  lines   long;    petals  white,  twice   longer:    capsule  broadly  ovate, 


270  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

blunt,  the  erect  styles  somewhat  coherent  below ;  dissepiments  ciliate. 
—  On  shaded  slopes  in  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua ;  C.  G.  Pringle 
(n.  1200),  Sept.,  1887.  Somewhat  resembling  L.  Greggii,  under 
which  name  it  has  been  distributed. 

Ceanothus  azureus,  Desf.,  var.  (?)  parvifolius.  A  widely 
branching  shrub,  with  slender  branchlets  and  small  narrow  leaves,  3  to 

9  lines  long;  fascicles  of  flowers  in  a  very  short,  mostly  naked,  raceme- 
like thyrse  (an  inch  long  or  less),  the  pedicels  scarcely  a  line  long. — 
On  rocky  slopes  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua ;  C.  G.  Pringle 
(n.  1205),  Oct.,  1887. 

Lupinus  montanus,  H.B.K.,  var.  glabrior.  A  nearly  glabrous 
form,  with  some  fine  pubescence.  —  On  high  wooded  slopes  of  the 
Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua,  at  9,700  feet  altitude ;  C.  G.  Pringle 
(n.  1206),  Oct.,  1887.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  species 
includes  both  L.  vaginatus,  Cham.  &  Schlecht.,  and  L.  jlagillaris, 
Bertol. 

Hosackia  Chihuahuana.  Annual,  erect,  very  finely  appressed- 
pubescent,  a  foot  high  ;  stipules  foliaceous,  small  (about  a  line  long), 
oblong-oblanceolate ;  leaves  shortly  petiolate,  5-7-foliolate,  the  leaflets 
oblanceolate,  acute  to  retuse,  6  lines  long  or  less :  peduncles  about 
equalling  the  leaves,  1-3-flowered,  the  bract  at  the  summit  small, 
trifoliolate ;  calyx  2  lines  long,  the  teeth  as  long  as  the  tube ;  petals 
yellow,  turning  brownish  purple:  pod  nearly  straight,  about  an  inch 
long.  —  On  shaded  rocky  slopes  in  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua  ; 
C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1210),  Sept.,  1887.  Differing  from  H.  gracilis  in 
pubescence,  small  stipules,  shorter  petioles,  and  shorter  calyx. 

Astragalus  Yaquianus.  Of  the  Mollissimi ;  tomentose  (the 
leaflets  appressed-villous),  perennial,  the  ascending  stems  a  foot  high : 
leaflets  10  to  15  pairs,  narrowly  oblong,  acute  or  subacuminate,  6  to 
12  lines  long:  peduncles  stout,  about  equalling  the  leaves:  flowers 
yellow,  becoming  reflexed,  8  to  10  lines  long;  calyx  white-tomentose, 
half  as  long,  the  linear  teeth  shorter  than  the  cylindrical  tube  ;  petals 
erect :  ovary  and  pod  glabrous,  2-celled,  the  latter  erect,  sessile,  coria- 
ceous, compressed-ovate  deeply  sulcate  on  the  back,  h  inch  long.  — 
On  moist  banks  and  gravelly  bars  of  the  upper  Yaqui  River  at  Guer- 
rero, Chihuabua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1218),  Sept.,  1887. 

Astragalus  scalaris.  §  Scytocarpi;  biennial,  very  sparingly  and 
finely  pubescent,  the  suberect  very  slender  stems  2  feet  high :  leaflets 

10  to  12  pairs,  linear,  2  to  6  lines  long,  retuse  or  obtuse:  peduncles 
equalling  or  exceeding  the  leaves,  bearing  a  slender  raceme  of  small 
distant  spreading  flowers :  calyx  campanulate,  a  line  long,  with  short 


OP  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  271 

acute  teeth;  petals  purple,  2^  lines  long,  the  banner  spreading:  pods 
reflexed,  glabrous,  sessile,  1 -celled,  thin-coriaceous,  oblong  or  oblong- 
ovate,  turgid,  obtuse,  nearly  3  lines  long.  —  By  streams  in  the  Sierra 
Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1220),  Sept.,  1887.  Some- 
what resembling  A.  flexuosus,  but  with  much  shorter  pods. 

Brongniartia  minutifolia,  "Watson,  var.  canescens.  Similar 
to  Dr.  Havard's  original  specimens  from  western  Texas,  but  canescent 
with  short  appressed  hairs  and  the  stipules  linear  instead  of  oblong ; 
a  round  bush,  about  2  feet  high.  —  Plains,  at  Orfiz,  Chihuahua ;  C.  G. 
Pringle  (n.  1449),  1887. 

Brongniartia  sericea,  Schlecht.  Valley  of  Mexico ;  C.  G. 
Pringle  (n.  1454),  1887.  Agreeing  with  Schlechtendal's  description 
except  in  the  fewer  (2  or  3)  peduncles  and  narrower  bractlets. 

Desmodium  (Heteroloma)  Pringlei.  Erect,  herbaceous,  tall 
(4  or  5  feet),  branching,  the  terete  stem  and  branches  and  the  long 
petioles  rough  with  rather  dense  short  stiff  hooked  hairs :  stipules 
lanceolate,  acuminate ;  leaflets  thin,  broadly  ovate  to  ovate-elliptical, 
rounded  or  subcuneate  at  base,  obtuse,  1^  to  3  inches  long  and  nearly 
as  broad,  thinly  strigillose-villous  on  both  sides :  fruiting  racemes 
elongated  ;  bracts  ovate,  acuminate  ;  pedicels  in  pairs,  widely  spread- 
ing, 6  to  9  lines  long :  pods  4-7 -jointed,  the  dorsal  margin  less  deeply 
notched  than  the  ventral,  the  joints  2  to  3  lines  long,  densely  uncinate- 
pubescent.  —  In  the  shade  on  dry  rocky  ledges,  Arroyo  Aucho,  in 
the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1226),  Oct.,  1887. 
Near  D.  strobilaceum. 

Desmodium  (Heteroloma)  Mexicanum.  Perennial,  herbaceous, 
trailing,  the  angled  stems  and  branches  (3  or  4  feet  long)  hispid  with 
straight  spreading  and  with  shorter  stiff  hooked  hairs :  stipules  lan- 
ceolate, acuminate,  villous ;  petioles  very  short ;  leaflets  orbicular  to 
round-ovate,  truncate  or  subcordate  at  base,  thinly  villous  both  sides 
and  ciliate  (substrigillose  above),  the  larger  2  inches  broad :  racemes 
axillary  and  terminal,  hooked-pubescent ;  pedicels  distant,  in  pairs, 
spreading,  about  6  lines  long,  the  small  bracts  and  broad  calyx 
somewhat  villous :  pods  3-7 -jointed,  the  sutures  nearly  equally  in- 
dented ;  joints  suborbicular,  finely  uncinate-pubescent,  2  lines  long.  — 
On  pine  plains  at  the  base  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua ;  C.  G. 
Pringle  (n.  1227),  Sept.,  1887.     Allied  to  D.  molliculum. 

Cologania  Pringlei.  Perennial,  with  short  procumbent  slender 
stems,  the  pubescence  reflexed  and  hispid :  leaves  nearly  sessile ;  leaf- 
lets small  (the  larger  6  to  10  lines  long),  obovate,  rounded  or  sub- 
retuse   at   the    summit,    glabrous    above,    sparingly   appressed-hairy 


272  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

beneath :  flowers  mostly  sessile  or  nearly  so  and  undeveloped,  some- 
times pedunculate  and  larger,  the  calyx  sparingly  short-hairy :  pods 
usually  glabrous  or  slightly  hairy  on  the  sutures,  sometimes  thinly 
covered  with  short  appressed  hairs,  8  to  10  lines  long,  attenuate  at 
base,  3-8-seeded.  —  On  pine  plains  at  the  base  of  the  Sierra  Mad  re, 
Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1499),  Oct.,  1887.  Resembling 
C.  Martia,  C.  humifusa,  and  C.  Lemmoni  in  habit  and  in  its  dimor- 
phous sessile  or  pedunculate  flowers. 

Leucena  Greggii.  A  small  tree,  10  to  15  feet  high,  the  young 
parts  finely  pubescent  with  short  spreading  yellowish  hairs,  becoming 
glabrate :  stipules  triangular-ovate,  acuminate ;  pinna?  5  to  7  pairs, 
with  a  conspicuous  subcylindrical  gland  at  the  base  of  each ;  leaflets 
numerous  (15  to  30  pairs),  narrowly  oblong,  acute  or  subacuminate, 
3  to  6  lines  long,  the  lateral  nerves  none  or  very  faint:  peduncles 
axillary,  solitary  or  in  pairs,  1  to  3  inches  long :  pods  linear,  8  inches 
long  by  4  to  6  lines  broad,  attenuate  below  to  a  short  stout  stipe  and 
beaked  with  a  slender  style  1  or  2  inches  long :  seeds  longitudinal.  — 
Near  Rinconada  (Dr.  Gregg,  1847),  at  Saltillo  (307  Palmer,  1880, 
distributed  as  L.  glauca),  and  mountains  near  Monterey  (C.  S.  Sar- 
gent, 1887).  Distinguished  from  L.  glauca  by  the  glands  of  the 
rhachis,  the  more  faintly  nerved  leaflets,  the  narrower  thicker  and 
long-attenuate  pod,  and  the  longitudinal  seeds. 

Pithecolobium  Palmeri,  Hemsl.,  var.  recurvum.  Flowering 
specimens  which  closely  resemble  this  species,  but  have  the  rather 
short  spines  strongly  recurved,  were  found  in  the  Mapula  Mountains, 
Chihuahua,  by  C.  G.  Pringle,  April,  1887. 

Potentilla  Pringlei.  Stems  decumbent,  a  foot  long  or  more 
including  the  paniculate  few-flowered  inflorescence,  finely  tomentose : 
leaves  mostly  radical,  ternately  digitate ;  leaflets  broadly  linear  (1  or 
2  inches  long  by  about  2  lines  broad),  acutely  toothed,  nearly  glabrous 
above,  densely  white-tomentose  beneath :  flowers  on  very  slender  ped- 
icels, rather  large,  yellow ;  calyx-lobes  lanceolate,  the  accessory  lobes 
linear  :  stamens  20 :  styles  filiform,  nearly  terminal.  —  On  pine  plains 
near  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1494),  Sept., 
1887.     Near  P.  gracilis. 

Till^ea  viridis.  Stems  numerous,  much  branched,  spreading,  about 
2  inches  long :  leaves  narrowly  linear,  acute :  flowers  solitary  in  the 
axils,  very  shortly  pedicellate,  minute ;  sepals  broad  and  rounded  ; 
petals  twice  longer,  equalling  the  carpels,  obtuse :  follicles  green,  ob- 
tuse, 8-seeded,  less  than  half  a  line  long.  —  Wet  places,  base  of  the 
Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1561),  Oct.,  1887. 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  273 

Sedum  Pringlei.  Annual,  glabrous ;  stems  2  or  3  inches  high, 
from  a  slender  subtuberous  root,  leafy,  several  times  dichotomously 
forked  above :  leaves  sessile,  oblong-lanceolate,  obtuse,  3  lines  long : 
flowers  few  upon  the  branches,  very  shortly  pedicellate :  sepals  about 
a  line  long,  the  lanceolate  acutish  pale-rose  petals  twice  longer :  fila- 
ments subulate,  shorter  than  the  petals ;  scales  oblong-spatulate,  firm 
and  thick :  carpels  erect,  acutish,  the  styles  very  short.  —  In  thin  soil 
on  hillsides  near  Cusihuiriachic,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1239), 
Aug.,  1887. 

Sedum  Chihuahuense.  Annual,  glabrous ;  stems  erect  from  a 
small  oblong  tuber,  3  to  5  inches  high,  repeatedly  dichotomous  above  : 
leaves  sessile,  oblong  or  oblong-lanceolate,  obtuse,  3  or  4  lines  long : 
flowers  sessile  or  very  shortly  pedicellate  upon  the  slender  branches ; 
sepals  broadly  oblong,  obtuse,  1  becoming  H  lines  long;  petals  white, 
oblanceolate,  2  lines  long :  stamens  included  ;  scales  clavate,  slender : 
carpels  shorter  than  the  petals,  attenuate  above,  at  length  divergent. 
—  Nearly  allied  to  the  last  and  to  S.  fuscum,  Herasl.  In  thin  soil 
on  rocky  ledges  in  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua ;  C.  G.  Pringle 
(n.  1240),  Sept.,  1887. 

Sedum  Madrense.  Perennial,  with  a  somewhat  creeping  root- 
stock,  the  branching  stems  6  inches  high  or  less,  leafy,  glabrous  : 
leaves  numerous,  sessile,  ligulate-oblanceolate,  obtusish,  3  or  4  lines 
long :  flowers  shortly  pedicellate  in  loose  spreading  cymes :  sepals 
oblong,  obtuse,  2  lines  long ;  petals  purple,  linear-lanceolate,  obtuse, 
3  to  8-J  lines  long :  stamens  included,  the  scales  very  short  and  trun- 
cate-flabelliform :  carpels  equalling  the  petals,  acuminate  with  the 
slender  styles,  becoming  divaricately  divergent.  —  On  dry  ledges  in 
the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua  ;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1241),  Oct., 
1887. 

Sedum  puberulum.  Rough-puberulent  throughout;  stems  from 
a  dense  cluster  of  fibrous  and  fleshy  roots,  slender,  simple  or  once 
forked,  1  to  3  inches  high :  leaves  sessile,  oblong  or  the  upper  linear- 
oblong,  acute  or  acutish,  3  to  5  lines  long :  flowers  few,  sessile  or 
shortly  pedicellate ;  sepals  narrowly  oblong,  2  or  3  lines  long ;  petals 
white,  oblanceolate,  acute,  3  lines  long,  scarcely  exceeding  the  sta- 
mens ;  scales  short,  quadrangular :  carpels  erect,  acuminate  with  slen- 
der styles.  —  On  shaded  cliffs  in  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua ;  C.  G. 
Pringle  (n.  1242),  Oct.,  1887. 

Rotala  Mexicana,  Cham.  &  Schlecht.     The  leaves  all  opposite 
and  the  calyx  appendaged  at  the  sinuses.  —  In  wet  places  on  the  plains 
near  Guerrero,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1365),  Sept.,  1887. 
vol.  xxiii.  (n.  s.  xv.)  18 


274  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

Epilobium  Madrense.  Glabrous  throughout  and  very  glaucous; 
stems  ascending  from  very  slender  rooting  rhizomes,  a  span  high  or 
less,  slender  and  somewhat  flexuous,  simple,  terete  or  nearly  so :  leaves 
thickish,  opposite  (the  floral  alternate),  petiolate,  entire  or  obsoletely 
toothed,  narrowly  lanceolate  or  oblong-lanceolate,  acutish,  6  to  12  lines 
long :  flowers  long-pedicellate ;  petals  purple,  2  lines  long,  the  lobes 
of  the  calyx  scarcely  half  as  long:  capsule  1  to  1-|-  inches  long:  seeds 
oblong,  obtuse,  papillose.  —  With  the  habit  of  the  E.  origanifolium 
group ;  apparently  not  referrible  to  any  of  Haussknecht's  species.  In 
the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1245),  1887. 

Sicyos  (Heterosicyos)  minimus.  Small  and  very  slender  (stems 
2  feet  long  or  less),  glabrous  or  nearly  so:  tendrils  simple;  leaves 
thin,  shortly  petiolate,  ternately  digitate,  the  lateral  leaflets  lobed  on 
the  lower  side,  the  middle  one  narrowly  lanceolate  to  linear,  1J  inches 
long  or  less,  entire  or  sparingly  toothed :  male  and  female  flowers  in 
the  same  axils,  minute,  the  male  inflorescence  few-flowered  and  much 
shorter  than  the  petioles,  the  female  flowers  solitary  or  in  pairs:  fruit 
small  (3  lines  long),  membranous,  compressed,  strongly  gibbous  and 
subtriangular,  the  ventral  side  straight,  shortly  beaked,  sparingly  cov- 
ered with  very  short  curved  bristles  :  seed  inverted,  pendulous  upon  a 
funicle  as  long  as  the  seed,  ovate,  somewhat  rugose-tuberculate.  —  In 
canons  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1576), 
Oct.,  1887.  Very  peculiar  in  its  thin  pericarp,  inverted  long-funicular 
seed,  and  simple  tendrils,  and  deserving  at  least  sectional  rank  in  the 
genus. 

Eryngium  Madrense.  Erect,  2  feet  high  or  more,  branching 
above:  lower  leaves  unknown;  cauline  bipinnatifid,  2  or  3  inches 
long,  the  rhachis  and  distant  segments  linear-subulate  and  spinulose ; 
the  uppermost  subdigitately  parted,  the  segments  entire  or  toothed ; 
involucral  bracts  about  8,  linear-subulate,  spinulose,  entire  or  with  1 
or  2  teeth,  4  to  8  lines  long :  head  oblong  (4  or  5  lines  long  by  2  or  3 
broad),  the  axis  prolonged  and  2-5-cleft  at  top ;  floral  bracts  flattened- 
filiform,  about  equalling  the  flowers :  fruit  about  i  line  long,  ovate, 
crowned  with  the  purple  calyx  and  covered  with  white  tubercles  in 
about  12  rows.  —  In  ponds  on  the  plains  at  the  base  of  the  Sierra 
Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1531),  Oct.,  1887. 

Bowlesia  palmata,  Ruiz  &  Pavon.  Under  cliffs  in  canons  of 
the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua;  G  G.  Pringle  (n.  1248),  Oct.,  1887. 
Apparently  agreeing  in  every  respect  with  the  descriptions  of  this 
Peruvian  species,  and  with  specimens  collected  in  the  Andes  by  Mr. 
Ball. 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  275 

PRIONOSCIADIUM  j  new  genus  of  Umbelliferce,  near  Angelica. 
Calyx-teeth  very  short,  but  nearly  equalling  or  exceeding  the  de- 
pressed stylopodium.  Fruit  round-ovate,  dorsally  compressed,  with 
a  broad  commissure  ;  lateral  jugas  expanded  into  lateral  wings,  the 
intermediate  and  dorsal  somewhat  prominent  or  slightly  winged ; 
vittna  several  in  the  intervals  and  on  the  commissure.  Carpophore 
2-parted.  Seed  dorsally  compressed,  the  margins  infolded.  —  Erect, 
caulescent,  with  ample  twice  or  thrice  pinnate  or  pinuatifid  leaves  and 
mostly  lobed  or  decompound  leaflets,  and  compound  umbels  with 
no  involucres  and  small  involucels.  Distinguished  from  Angelica 
(Arcluingelica)  chiefly  by  the  infolded  seed.  The  name  has  reference 
to  the  mountain  habitat  of  Pringle's  specimens  (irpuw,  a  saw,  sierra). 

Prionosciadium  Madrense.  Perennial  (?),  2  or  3  feet  high, 
much  branched,  glabrous  excepting  the  somewhat  scabrous  petioles 
and  inflorescence :  petioles  shortly  dilated  at  base ;  lower  leaves  thrice 
pinnate,  the  uppermost  simply  pinnate  ;  leaflets  lanceolate  in  outline, 
pinnatilid  with  rather  small  incised  segments:  peduncles  short;  umbels 
6-10-rayed,  the  rays  about  an  inch  long;  involucels  of  a  few  linear 
acuminate  bracts  ;  pedicels  1  to  3  lines  long :  fruit  glabrous,  3£  to  5 
lines  long  by  2^  to  3  J  broad,  the  wings  nearly  as  broad  as  the  seed ; 
vittaa  in  the  intervals  3,  very  narrow  and  irregular,  on  the  commissure 
6,  broad  and  thick.  —  On  ledges  of  a  river  canon  near  Guerrero,  Chi- 
huahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1251),  Sept.  and  Oct.,  1887. 

Prioxosciadium  Mexicanum.  Stout  and  tall,  the  foliage  and 
inflorescence  subpubescent :  leaves  ternate  and  compoundly  pinnate 
or  pinnatifid,  the  ultimate  segments  large,  oblong  or  lanceolate,  sub- 
crenately  toothed  and  mostly  lobed  :  peduncles  verticillately  panicled ; 
rays  12  to  20,  an  inch  long  or  less;  involucels  of  a  few  linear  acumi- 
nate bracts ;  pedicels  very  short  (a  line  long  or  less)  :  fruit  nearly 
orbicular  (a  little  narrower'  above),  retuse,  cordate  at  base,  glabrous, 
4  to  6  lines  long,  the  wings  broader  than  the  seed ;  vittee  broad  and 
nearly  confluent,  3  in  the  intervals,  6  on  the  commissure.  —  Angelica 
Mexicana,  Vatke,  Ind.  Sem.  h.  Berol.  1876,  App.  2  ?  The  above 
description  is  drawn  from  Bourgeau's  specimens  from  the  valley  of 
Mexico  (n.  316,  in  flower,  and  n.  571,  in  fruit).  Vatke's  species  was 
founded  on  specimens  collected  by  Hahn  in  the  valley  of  Mexico 
(n.  13,  in  fruit)  and  by  Ehrenberg  (n.  186)  at  Mineral  del  Monte. 
Hi3  description  applies  so  closely  to  Bourgeau's  specimens  that  the 
identity  can  scarcely  be  doubted,  though  the  fruit  is  said  to  be  that  of 
a  true  Angelica  and  to  have  the  intervallecular  vittue  solitary  and 
somewhat  obscure. 


276  PROCEEDINGS   OP    THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

Prionosciadium  Pringlei.  Kesembling  the  last  in  habit  and 
foliage,  rather  more  pubescent  and  the  segments  of  the  leaves  more 
acutely  toothed :  fruit  somewhat  pubescent,  ou  pedicels  1  or  2  lines 
long,  oblong-elliptical,  4  or  5  lines  long  by  2|  or  3  broad,  narrower 
below  and  scarcely  at  all  retuse  or  cordate,  the  wings  mostly  narrower 
than  the  seed :  vittae  broad  and  thin,  3  in  the  intervals,  6  on  the  com- 
missure. —  In  the  shade  of  cliffs  on  the  Mapula  Mountains  (n.  1137) 
and  ou  shaded  slopes  of  La  Bufa  Mountain  above  Cusihuiriachic,  Chi- 
huahua (n.  1249)  ;  C.  G.  Pringle,  Oct.,  1886,  and  Sept.,  1887.  Dis- 
tributed as  Angelica  Mexicana. 

Eulophus  tenuifolius.  Glabrous ;  stems  ascending,  surrounded 
at  base  by  the  fibrous  remains  of  old  petioles,  mostly  simple,  a  foot 
high  or  more :  leaves  mostly  radical,  long-petioled,  thrice  pinnate,  the 
linear  leaflets  very  narrow,  2  to  5  lines  long;  solitary  cauline  leaf 
small,  on  a  short  dilated  petiole:  rays  usually  10,  about  an  inch  long; 
involucels  of  several  laciniately  cleft  bracts,  mostly  adnate  to  the  short 
pedicels :  flowers  yellow :  fruit  ovate,  acutish,  2  lines  long  or  more ; 
ribs  slightly  prominent  ;  carpophore  bifid  or  entire;  vittae  numerous : 
seeds  strongly  lunate  and  deeply  channelled.  —  In  canons  of  the  Sierra 
Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1518),  Oct.,  1887. 

Eulophus  ternatus.  Glabrous  and  glaucous ;  stem  erect,  much 
branched :  radical  leaves  biternate,  the  leaflets  very  narrowly  linear, 
entire,  1  \  or  2  inches  long  or  more ;  cauline  leaves  mostly  ternate  or 
the  upper  simple :  umbels  long-pedunculate,  or  the  lateral  often  ses- 
sile, few-  (usually  5-)  rayed,  the  terminal  involucrate  with  1  or  2  long 
linear  bracts  ;  involucels  none  :  flowers  yellow  :  fruit  round-ovate,  ob- 
tuse, 1J  lines  long;  ribs  obsolete;  carpophore  2-parted ;  vittae  very 
numerous :  seed  deeply  and  broadly  channelled.  —  Pine  plains  at  the 
base  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1252), 
Sept.,  1887. 

Stevia  Pringlei.  Perennial,  the  herbaceous  stems  a  foot  high, 
simple  above  the  branching  base,  purplish,  sparingly  appressed-pubes- 
cent:  leaves  approximate,  mostly  alternate  (the  lower  only  opposite), 
sessile,  glabrous,  linear  (or  the  lower  on  the  main  stem  oblong  to 
oblong-ovate),  obtuse,  entire,  about  an  inch  long:  heads  few,  on  slen- 
der peduncles  in  a  loose  corymb ;  involucre  slightly  puberulent,  pur- 
plish, 3  or  4  lines  long:  corollas  pale  purple,  5  or  6  lines  long:  achene 
puberulent,  the  pappus  exaristate,  short  and  coroniform,  the  paleae 
somewhat  connate. —  Apparently  near  to  &  pilosa,  Lag.  Foothills 
of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1301),  Sept., 
1887. 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  277 

Aplopappus  (Stenotus)  niveus.  Caudex  much  branched,  the 
herbaceous  leafy  ascending  or  decumbent  stems  6  inches  long  and 
equalling  the  naked  peduncle,  white  floccose-woolly  throughout :  leaves 
spatulate,  1  or  2  inches  long  by  3  to  9  lines  broad,  obtuse:  peduncle 
1- flowered,  somewhat  glandular-scabrous  above;  heads  6  lines  long; 
involucre  glandular-scabrous,  not  tomentose,  of  narrow  acuminate 
bracts  in  3  or  4  unequal  rows :  rays  about  20,  deep  orange :  achenes 
white-silky.  —  Gravelly  borders  of  streams  in  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chi- 
huahua; C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1300),  Sept.,  1887. 

Sanvitalia  tenuis.  Annual,  erect,  a  span  high  or  less,  slender, 
branching,  rather  sparingly  rough-pubescent :  leaves  linear,  ^  to  1  inch 
long,  sessile,  entire :  heads  small,  sessile,  the  turbinate-campanulate  to 
hemispherical  involucres  2  lines  high,  of  1  or  2  series  of  thin  obovate 
obtuse  nearly  equal  bracts  ;  receptacle  small,  depressed-conical,  the 
chaff  thin  and  that  of  the  disk  conduplicate :  ligules  very  short,  cune- 
ate-obovate,  3-toothed  ;  disk-flowers  yellow  becoming  brown  :  achenes 
nearly  alike  in  ray  and  disk,  with  two  very  slender  deciduous  awns  or 
none,  those  of  the  ray  usually  more  or  less  granular,  of  the  disk  with 
a  thinner  membranous  margin.  —  In  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua,  at 
7-8,000  feet  altitude;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1304),  Sept.,  1887. 

Siegesbeckia  orientalis,  Linn.  A  variety  of  this  widely  dis- 
tributed species  with  small  heads  and  very  obtusely  angled  oblong- 
obovate  achenes. —  At  Arroyo  Aucho  in  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua ; 
C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1283),  Oct.,  1887. 

Sabazia  glabra.  Glabrous  throughout,  branching  from  the  base 
upward,  a  span  high,  lax :  leaves  entire,  linear-oblong,  obtuse,  atten- 
uate to  a  short  petiole,  1  to  \\  inches  long:  peduncles  1-flowered,  ex- 
ceeding the  leaves;  outer  involucre  of  12  to  15  equal  thin-herbaceous 
bracts,  the  inner  embracing  the  achenes  of  the  ray :  ligules  conspicu- 
ous, 3  or  4  lines  long,  rather  broadly  linear,  2-3-toothed,  yellow 
toward  the  base,  white  or  pinkish  above:  receptacle  convex,  broad. — 
In  shallow  water  on  the  pine  plains  at  the  base  of  the  Sierra  Madre, 
Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1295),  Sept.,  1887.  The  concave  in- 
ner bracts  of  the  involucre  would  refer  this  species  strictly  to  Jagceria, 
but  in  other  respects  it  agrees  better  with  Sabazia. 

Lepachys  (Obeliscaria)  Mexicana.  Eough  with  a  short  spread- 
ing pubescence  and  somewhat  hirsute,  2  feet  high :  lower  leaves  lance- 
olate, attenuate  to  a  long  petiole,  acuminate,  subcrenately  toothed,  the 
cauline  pinnatifid  with  a  few  short  spreading  segments :  heads  long- 
pedunculate,  1  to  1J  inches  long:  rays  yellow,  narrowly  oblong-spatu- 
late,  15  lines  long:  achenes  epappose,  with  obtuse  naked  margins,  and 


278  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

somewhat  ribbed  on  the  face.  —  On  cool  slopes  of  the  Sierra  Madre, 
Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1305),  Sept.,  1887. 

Helianthella  Madrensis.  Root  thick  and  fleshy  :  stems  spar- 
ingly pubescent  or  glabrate,  nearly  naked,  2  feet  high,  bearing  3  to 
5  long-pedunculate  flowers :  leaves  mostly  radical,  linear  and  long- 
petiolate,  acute  or  acuminate,  4  to  10  inches  long  (cauline  much 
shorter),  entire,  glabrous  above,  subscabrous- beneath :  heads  rather 
small  (5  or  6  lines  high) ;  involucre  finely  pubescent,  the  bracts 
strongly  3-7-nerved :  ray-flowers  9  lines  long:  chaff  thin  and  sca- 
rious :  pappus,  of  2  short  slender  awns  and  numerous  dissected  squa- 
mulas.  —  On  pine  plains  at  the  base  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihua- 
hua; C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1302),  September,  1887.  Allied  to  H.  Mexi- 
cana. 

Bidens  inermis.  Annual,  slender,  branching,  2  feet  high,  hir- 
sutely  scabrous  throughout :  leaves  ternately  divided,  the  divisions 
ternately  or  pinnately  cleft  into  broadly  linear  segments,  the  terminal 
one  elongated :  peduncles  slender ;  involucre  hirsute,  the  outer  bracts 
narrowly  linear,  obtuse,  the  inner  linear,  acuminate,  twice  longer  :  ray 
white  faintly  veined  with  purple,  5  lines  long,  neutral :  achenes  nu- 
merous, unequal,  very  slender,  mostly  long-attenuate  and  6  lines  long, 
scabrous  above,  awnless.  —  On  rocky  ledges  in  thin  soil,  Arroyo 
Aucho,  in  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1291), 
Oct.,  1887.  Nearly  allied  to  B.  tenuisecta,  but  the  achenes  awnless 
as  in  B.  exaristata. 

Schkuhria  (Euschkuhria)  Pringlei.  With  the  habit  of  the 
genus,  the  leaves  pinnately  3-7-parted  with  narrowly  linear  divisions, 
the  uppermost  entire :  bracts  of  the  involucre  obtuse,  with  scarious 
yellow  tips :  flowers  yellow  :  achenes  (9)  narrow,  nearly  2  lines  long, 
slightly  hairy  on  the  angles ;  pappus  of  very  short  unequal  blunt 
nerveless  scales,  the  longer  scarcely  half  the  length  of  the  glandular 
base  of  the  corolla.  —  In  moist  places  on  the  plains  near  Guerrero, 
Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1292),  Sept.,  1887. 

Hymenothrix  glandulosa.  Annual  or  biennial,  pubescent  with 
spreading  gland-tipped  hairs,  2  feet  high  or  more :  leaves  twice  or 
thrice  pinnate,  the  segments  linear,  obtuse :  heads  cymose ;  involucral 
bracts  yellowish  and  somewhat  scarious-margined :  rays  none ;  corolla 
of  the  disk-flowers  with  a  dilated  deeply  lobed  limb :  achenes  rather 
broadly  obpyramidal  and  prominently  angled,  somewhat  pubescent  and 
hairy  on  the  angles ;  pappus-scales  very  short  and  blunt,  unequal, 
nerveless,  not  half  the  length  of  the  glandular-hispid  corolla- tube.  — 
By  springs  in  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua,  at  9,000  feet  altitude ; 


OF  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  279 

C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1293),  Oct.,  1887.     In  the  character  of  the  pappus 
this  species  approaches  Bahia  still  more  nearly  than  does  H.  Palmeri. 

Tagetes  Pringlei.  Annual,  erect  and  branching,  2  feet  high  or 
more,  glabrous :  leaves  simple,  linear,  serrate,  ciliate  toward  the  base, 
2  or  3  inches  long :  heads  few  in  the  open  cymes ;  involucres  some- 
what turgid,  contracted  and  punctate  above,  with  5  blunt  or  apiculate 
teeth  :  flowers  included,  the  2  yellow  rays  scarcely  exceeding  the  in- 
volucre :  achenes  linear,  scarcely  scabrous  on  the  angles ;  awns  2  or  3, 
equalling  the  corolla  or  one  shorter,  the  2  or  3  palea?  short  and  blunt. 
—  In  wet  places  on  the  pine  plains  at  base  of  the  Sierra  Madre, 
Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1297),  Sept.,  1887.  Allied  to  T. 
lucida. 

Pectis  aquatica.  Growing  in  shallow  water,  the  floating  stems 
a  foot  long,  sparingly  leafy  and  branched  at  top,  glabrous  and  spar- 
ingly punctate :  leaves  linear,  entire,  not  setose,  an  inch  long :  heads 
few  and  sessile  or  nearly  so  ;  involucre  3  to  5  lines  long,  of  5  imbri- 
cate obtuse  purple-tipped  bracts :  flowers  (about  12)  included  or  nearly 
so ;  rays  none  :  achenes  very  slender,  with  long-attenuate  base,  3  or  4 
lines  long;  pappus  of  10  or  12  unequal  scabrous  bristles,  the  longest 
shorter  than  the  corolla.  —  On  pine  plains  at  the  base  of  the  Sierra 
Madre,  Chihuahua ;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1296),  Sept.,  1887.  A  true 
Pectis,  but  of  peculiar  habit  and  the  leaves  wanting  the  usual  ciliate 
bristles. 

Artemisia  dracunculina.  Closely  resembling  A.  Dracunculus 
and  A.  dracunculoides :  stem  and  leaves  more  or  less  villous  with 
soft  spreading  hairs :  leaves  linear,  entire  or  the  cauline  3-cleft,  1  to 
2|  inches  long:  panicle  very  loose,  the  heads  (mostly  ascending)  on 
filiform  peduncles  2  to  4  lines  long ;  involucre  nearly  glabrous :  sterile 
flowers  numerous,  the  styles  long-exserted.  —  At  the  base  of  cliffs  in 
the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1309),  Oct.,  1887. 
The  whole  plant,  and  especially  the  roots,  have  a  decided  odor. 

Senecio  umbraculifera.  Densely  and  closely  white-tomentose 
throughout,  perennial,  the  stems  erect  from  a  horizontal  rootstock,  1| 
feet  high :  basal  leaves  linear-oblanceolate  or  linear,  acute  or  acutish, 
attenuate  to  a  short  petiole,  entire,  3  to  7  inches  long,  the  cauline 
scarcely  shorter,  few  (3  or  4),  linear-lanceolate,  sessile :  heads  approx- 
imate in  a  close  cymose  panicle,  rather  small,  radiate  ;  involucre  nar- 
rowly campanulate,  the  bracts  (10)  3  or  4  lines  long:  rays  5  or  6 : 
achenes  canescent.  —  Summits  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua,  at 
9,700  feet  altitude;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1316),  Oct.,  1887.  Near 
S.  fastigiatus. 


280  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

Senecio  Chihuahuensis.  Perennial  (?),  the  purplish  leafy  sub- 
pubescent  stem  \\  feet  high,  branching  at  the  top  :  leaves  thin,  some- 
what white-tomeutose  when  young,  glabrescent,  the  basal  oblanceolate 
and  coarsely  toothed,  2  inches  long,  the  cauline  2  to  4  inches  long, 
ovate  to  oblong  in  outline,  nearly  sessile,  pinnately  divided,  the  nar- 
row lobes  usually  sparingly  pinnatifid  or  in  the  smaller  leaves  entire : 
inflorescence  cymose ;  involucre  calyculate,  nearly  glabrous,  cylindric- 
campanulate,  3  or  4  lines  long;  bracts  12,  linear,  tipped  with  brown: 
rays  6  or  8,  4  lines  long :  acheues  canescent.  —  On  ledges  of  the  Sierra 
Madre,  Chihuahua,  at  9,700  feet  altitude,  under  Populus  tremuloides ; 
C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1318),  Oct.,  1887.  Most  nearly  related  to  some 
forms  of  S.  Douylasii. 

Heterotoma  gibbosa.  Low  and  very  slender,  branching  from 
the  base,  glabrous :  leaves  mostly  radical,  oblong-ovate,  attenuate  to  a 
short  ciliate  petiole,  coarsely  toothed,  an  inch  long  ;  cauline  1  or  2, 
ovate,  sessile,  dentate  :  flowers  on  long  slender  pedicels,  small  (4  lines 
long)  ;  calyx  very  oblique  ;  corolla  blue  with  a  greenish  throat,  the 
tube  more  or  less  gibbous  at  base  but  not  at  all  calcarate,  the  upper 
lobe  of  the  limb  rounded,  the  lateral  broadly  oblong.  —  Banks  of 
brooks,  Ortiz,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1478),  May,  1887. 

Polemonium  pauciflorum.  Perennial,  a  foot  high  or  less, 
branching  and  leafy,  glandular-pubescent :  leaflets  6  to  12  pairs,  nar- 
rowly lanceolate,  acute,  9  lines  long  or  less  :  flowers  solitary  or  very 
few  at  the  ends  of  the  branches,  on  pedicels  an  inch  long  or  less  ;  calyx 
6  lines  long,  the  linear  teeth  longer  than  the  campanulate  tube  ;  corolla 
yellow  tinged  with  red,  \\  inches  long,  funnelform,  the  rather  broad 
tube  but  little  dilated  above,  the  lobes  broad,  acute,  4  lines  long :  fila- 
ments declined,  inserted  near  the  base  of  the  tube,  the  dilated  appen- 
dage at  the  base  pilose-bearded :  capsule  ovate,  few-seeded,  little 
exceeding  the  calyx-tube.  —  On  shaded  ledges  in  the  Sierra  Madre, 
Chihuahua  ;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1558),  Oct.,  1887.  A  true  Polemonium 
though  peculiar  in  the  form  and  color  of  the  corolla. 

Ipomcea  leptosiphon.  Glabrous ;  stems  very  slender,  from  a 
narrow  constricted  tuber,  branching  and  twining,  2  or  3  feet  long: 
leaves  shortly  petiolate,  digitately  divided,  the  divisions  very  narrowly 
linear,  2  inches  long  or  less  and  not  \  line  wide:  peduncles  1 -flowered, 
about  equalling  the  petiole:  sepals  unequal,  oblong-lanceolate,  acutish, 
the  outer  somewhat  muricate,  4  or  5  lines  long;  corolla  white  or  pink- 
ish, nearly  4  inches  long,  funnelform  with  a  long  narrow  tube:  capsule 
ovate-globose,  nearly  equalling  the  calyx.  —  In  thin  gravelly  soil  on 
the  foothills  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1337), 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  281 

Sept.,  1887.     Resembling   the  I.  muricaia   group,  but    the  stem  is 
evidently  twining. 

Ipomcea  Madrensis.  Glabrous ;  stems  from  a  small  oblong 
tuber,  short  (a  span  long),  erect  or  decumbent,  simple  or  divided  at 
base :  leaves  very  shortly  petiolate,  narrowly  oblong,  acute  or  acutish, 
narrowed  at  base,  entire  or  with  a  single  linear  lobe  on  each  side,  2 
inches  long:  peduncles  1-flowered,  |  inch  long,  scabrous,  bibracteate 
in  the  middle  and  often  geniculate  ;  sepals  ovate,  acute  or  obtuse, 
more  or  less  muricate,  3  or  4  lines  long;  corolla  purple,  15  lines  long, 
funnelform  with  a  very  broad  tube,  apiculate  at  the  folds  :  capsule 
globose,  a  littie  shorter  than  the  calyx.  —  On  pine  plains  at  the  base 
of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1338),  Sept.,  1887. 
Allied  to  I.  leptophylla. 

Breweria  rotundifolia.  Stems  procumbent,  herbaceous,  sev- 
eral from  a  rather  thick  perennial  (?)  root,  a  span  long  or  less,  thinly 
pubescent:  leaves  round-ovate,  5  to  8  lines  long,  very  obtuse  or  retuse, 
very  shortly  petiolate,  glabrous  above,  silky-villous  beneath :  pedicels 
sessile  in  the  axils,  1  or  2  lines  long,  shorter  than  the  narrowly  oblong 
acute  bracts :  sepals  narrowly  oblong,  acute,  nearly  2  lines  long, 
equalling  the  globose  capsule ;  corolla  pale  blue,  open,  5  lines  broad : 
filaments  glabrous  :  styles  distinct  and  divided  to  the  base.  —  In  damp 
places  on  the  pine  plains  at  base  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua ; 
C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1341),  Sept.,  1887.     Allied  to  B.  ovalifolia. 

Pentstejion  Pringlei.  Near  P.  Jamesii,  finely  pubescent 
throughout,  glandular  above,  a  foot  high  or  less  :  leaves  narrowly 
oblong  to  lanceolate,  obtuse  or  acutish,  approximate,  1  to  If  inches 
long,  the  lowest  attenuate  at  base :  peduncles  mostly  short,  1-2-flowered : 
calyx  herbaceous,  the  segments  oblong  to  lanceolate,  obtuse  or  acute, 
2  or  3  lines  long;  corolla  apparently  reddish  purple,  an  inch  long, 
ampliate  above :  sterile  filament  naked ;  anthers  short,  not  expanded, 
ciliate.  —  On  hills  near  Santa  Isabel,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle 
(n.  1557),  Aug.,  1887.     The  anthers  are  those  of  the  Speciosi  group. 

Veronica  (Veronicastrum)  Mexicana.  Stem  herbaceous 
from  a  perennial  running  rootstock,  erect,  branching,  a  foot  high 
or  more,  finely  pubescent:  leaves  sessile  or  the  lower  very  shortly 
petiolate,  oblong-lanceolate,  acute,  cuneate  at  base,  acutely  serrate,  1  to 
lj  inches  long,  sparingly  pubescent:  racemes  terminal,  loose,  the 
lower  bracts  foliaceous  ;  pedicels  slender,  3  or  4  lines  long:  calyx 
unequally  5-lobed,  the  lobes  oblong,  obtuse,  1J  lines  long;  corolla 
blue,  rotate  with  a  very  short  tube,  4-lobed,  4  lines  long.  —  On  cool 
damp  bluffs  of  streams  in  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua;  C.  G.  Pringle 


282  PROCEEDINGS   OP  THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

(n.  1349),  Sept.,  1887.     A  very  peculiar  species,  with  large  bright 
blue  flowers. 

Priva  Orizaba.  With  the  habit,  foliage  and  pubescence  of 
P.hispida:  leaves  more  acutely  dentate:  flowers  distinctly  pedicelled, 
the  pedicels  mostly  equalling  the  linear  bracts :  calyx  finely  puberu- 
lent,  narrowly  cylindrical,  in  fruit  globose-didymous :  fruit  ascending ; 
cocci  1-celled,  1-seeded.  —  About  Orizaba,  Mexico;  2950  and  3118 
Bourgeau,  and  593  Botteri  in  Herb.  Gray.  Clearly  distinct  from 
P.  hispida,  in  which  the  leaves  are  crenately  toothed,  the  subcampan- 
ulate  calyx  densely  uncinate-hispid,  and  the  fruit  more  or  less  re- 
flexed  upon  the  very  short  pedicels.  This  last  species  was  collected 
in  the  valley  of  Mexico  by  Bourgeau  (n.  359)  and  Schaffner  (n.  425), 
and  in  Chihuahua  by  Mr.  Pringle  (n.  287  of  his  1885  collection, 
distributed  as  P.  echinata). 

Microsttlis  Pringlei.  Stem  slender,  over  a  foot  high,  from  a 
round-tuberous  base,  1 -foliate:  leaf  narrowly  oblong  above  the  sheath- 
ing base,  acute,  2  inches  long :  raceme  elongated,  loose ;  bracts  green, 
triangular-subulate,  equalling  or  shorter  than  the  very  slender  pedicels 
(about  a  line  long)  :  flowers  1|  lines  long,  very  narrow,  greenish  yel- 
low ;  lateral  sepals  narrowly  lanceolate  and  subfalcate,  acuminate, 
contiguous  behind  the  lip,  the  lower  lanceolate  with  a  broad  base, 
reflexed  against  the  ovary ;  petals  nearly  filiform,  much  shorter, 
coiled  backward  ;  lip  triangular-hastate,  obtusish,  a  line  long,  with  a 
dull  brownish  line  near  each  margin ;  basal  auricles  oblong :  ovary 
minute,  mostly  reflexed  on  the  ascending  pedicel.  —  On  shaded  gravel 
banks  in  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua ;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1369), 
Oct.,  1887.     Near  M.  ocreata. 

Microsttlis  crispata,  Reich,  f .  ?  A  rather  stout  species,  a  foot 
high,  with  2  or  3  oblong  very  acute  or  acutish  loosely  sheathing  leaves 
about  4  inches  long :  raceme  elongated  (4  to  7  inches  long)  with 
numerous  crowded  flowers ;  bracts  deltoid,  acute,  nearly  equalling  the 
very  short  thick  erect  pedicels:  flowers  greenish  yellow;  sepals  oblong- 
ovate,  obtuse,  the  margins  revolute,  the  upper  narrower,  over  a  line 
long ;  petals  linear,  as  long ;  lip  cordate  and  concave-saccate,  the 
pinkish  acute  apex  thickened  and  cucullate :  ovary  and  capsule 
strongly  crispate-angled,  the  latter  three  lines  long.  —  In  cool  damp 
soil  in  the  Sierra  Madre;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1371),  Sept.,  1887.  M. 
crispata  is  referred  by  Mr.  Ridley,  in  his  recent  revision  of  the  genus, 
to  M.  myurus,  and  he  must  have  examined  Hartweg's  specimen  in 
Herb.  Kew  upon  which  the  species  was  founded,  though  he  does  not 
mention  it  in  his  paper.     Mr.  Pringle's  specimens  are  nevertheless  so 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  283 

named  at  a  venture,  simply  because  they  do  not  agree  with  the  de- 
scriptions of  M.  myurus,  upon  the  double  chance  of  their  being  identical 
with  Ilartweg's  plant  and  its  yet  proving  to  be  a  good  species. 

Habenaria  Schaffneri.  Stem  stout,  8  inches  high,  covered  with 
imbricated  ovate  or  ovate-lanceolate  sheathing,  acute  or  acuminate 
leaves  1  to  1  h  inches  long :  bracts  large,  tbliaceous,  much  exceeding 
the  ovary ;  raceme  short,  few-  (6-8-)  flowered :  flowers  large,  5  or  6 
lines  long ;  lower  sepals  lanceolate,  acutish,  the  upper  broadly  ellipti- 
cal, obtuse,  carinate;  petals  2-parted,  the  lower  segments  very  narrow, 
the  upper  oblong-falcate,  contiguous  or  subcoherent  to  the  sepal ;  lip 
3-lobed  above  the  base,  5  lines  long,  the  middle  lobe  narrowly  ligulate, 
the  lateral  narrowly  linear ;  spur  an  inch  long  or  more,  dilated  toward 
the  end  and  very  acuminate:  oblong  processes  of  the  stigma  and  beaks 
of  the  anther  1^  lines  long.  —  In  the  San  Miguelito  Mountains  (5088 
Schaffher,  1876)  and  near  San  Luis  Potosi  (860  Parry  and  Palmer, 
1878)  ;  under  pines  in  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua  (1375a  Pringle, 
Sept.,  1887). 

Calochortus  Madrensis.  Bulb  small,  fibrous-coated  ;  stem  very 
slender,  a  span  high  or  less,  not  bulbiferous  :  leaves  narrowly  linear, 
equalling  or  shorter  than  the  stem :  flowers  small,  erect,  orange- 
yellow  ;  sepals  oblong,  obtuse,  apiculate,  6  lines  long,  naked  and 
spotless  ;  petals  as  long,  cuneate-obovate,  rounded  above  or  barely 
acutish,  entire  or  denticulate,  with  a  band  of  orange-colored  hairs 
above  the  base,  the  nectary  ill-defined  or  obsolete :  anthers  a  line  long, 
obtuse:  capsule  linear,  1  to  If  inches  long.  —  On  pine  plains  at  the 
base  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chihuahua ;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1882), 
Sept.,  1887. 

Eriocaulon  Pringlei.  Annual,  very  low  and  delicate  :  leaves 
filiform,  terete  or  semiterete,  nerveless,  9  lines  long  or  less  :  scapes 
very  slender,  \\  inches  long  or  less,  with  loose  pellucid  nerveless 
sheaths :  heads  small  (less  than  a  line  broad)  and  few-flowered,  fuli- 
ginous, glabrous ;  bracts  erect,  obtuse,  the  inner  narrow  and  acute : 
flowers  trimerous.  —  On  plains  at  the  base  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  Chi- 
huahua;  C.  G.  Pringle  (n.  1533),  Sept.,  1887. 


3.    Descriptions  of  some  Plants  of  Guatemala. 

LOUTERIDIUM;  new  genus  of  Acanthacece,  tribe  Ruelliece.  Calyx 
herbaceous,  the  upper  sepals  distinct,  the  3  lower  united  to  the  apex, 
these  3  divisions  nearly  equal,  acute.     Corolla-tube  very  short,  ab- 


284  PROCEEDINGS    OP   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

ruptly  expanded  into  the  large  exceedingly  oblique  gibbous-campanu- 
late  throat;  limb  convolute  in  the  bud,  subequally  5-lobed,  the  lobes 
short.  Stamens  2,  exserted,  inserted  upon  the  tube,  membranously 
dilated  and  subpubescent  below,  each  connate  with  a  very  short 
obtuse  staminodium ;  anthers  oblong,  dorsifixed,  glabrous,  the  cells 
parallel.  Capsule  sessile,  subtetragonal  and  somewhat  dorsal ly  com- 
pressed ;  cells  6-8-seeded.  Seeds  orbicular,  flat,  borne  by  stout  acute 
retinacula,  alternating  in  2  rows  in  each  cell.  —  A  tall  pubescent  shrub 
with  ample  ovate  leaves.  Flowers  long-pedunculate  in  an  erect  nearly 
naked  cyme.  A  strongly  characterized  genus,  having  the  habit  of 
some  species  of  Buellia,  but  with  the  lower  sepals  united  into  one, 
two  exserted  stamens,  and  the  corolla  very  oblique  and  inflated. 
Named  with  reference  to  the  form  of  the  corolla. 

Louteridium  Donnell-Smithii.  Twelve  to  fifteen  feet  high, 
sometimes  arborescent,  the  younger  branches,  foliage  and  inflorescence 
soft-pubescent :  leaves  petiolate,  ovate,  acute,  subcordate  at  base,  finely 
crenate,  6  to  10  inches  long  by  4  to  6  wide  :  cyme  a  foot  long  or  more  ; 
peduncles  3  or  4  inches  long,  jointed  below  the  middle  ;  bracts  and 
bractlets  very  small  or  deciduous  :  divisions  of  the  calyx  oblong-lanceo- 
late, usually  acute  or  acuminate,  an  inch  becoming  1£  inches  long; 
corolla-tube  broad,  4  lines  long,  the  saccately  inflated  gibbous  throat 
(color  indeterminate)  an  inch  deep  and  nearly  1  ^  inches  broad,  the  some- 
what contracted  orifice  bordered  by  the  narrow  spreading  or  at  length 
revolute  limb  :  stamens  and  style  long-exserted  :  capsule  narrowly  ob- 
long, an  inch  long :  seeds  2  lines  broad.  —  Near  Pansamala  in  the 
department  of  Alta  Vera  Paz,  Guatemala,  at  .3,800  feet  altitude  ; 
Tiirckheim  (n.  856),  May,  1887.  Communicated  by  John  Donnell 
Smith,  Esq.,  of  Baltimore,  well  known  as  a  zealous  botanist,  who  is 
making  a  careful  study  of  Turckkeim's  collections  from  central 
Guatemala. 

Heliconia  Choconiana.  Glabrous  throughout;  stems  about  3 
feet  high,  sheathed  with  numerous  leaves,  the  blades  of  which  are  ses- 
sile upon  the  sheaths,  linear-oblong  (6  to  10  inches  long  by  about  2 
broad),  acuminate,  green  and  shining:  inflorescence  deflexed  upon  the 
very  short  peduncle,  the  rhachis  flexuous ;  spathes  (5  or  6)  scarlet, 
lanceolate,  acuminate,  about  2  inches  long,  the  lower  one  empty  and 
usually  leafy-tipped:  flowers  yellowish  white,  2  inches  long;  lower 
sepal  free,  the  lateral  connate  with  the  petals :  sterile  stamen  ovate, 
abruptly  acuminate.  —  In  the  Chocon  forests  at  the  foot  of  limestone 
hills,  March,  1885  ;  in  flower  at  Cambridge,  March,  1887. 

Pleurothallis  Blaisdellii.     Stem  slender,  about  2  inches  long, 


OF    AKTS   AND   SCIENCES.  285 

angled,  hispid,  sheathed  with  4  to  7  obliquely  truncate  funnelform  acute 
nerved  bracts,  the  terminal  one  sheathing  the  base  of  the  solitary  leaf 
and  of  the  nearly  sessile  raceme :  leaf  oblong,  nearly  sessile,  1  or  2 
inches  long,  acute  at  base,  3-denticulate  at  the  apex,  dark  green,  pur- 
plish beneath,  5-nerved,  the  outer  nerve  marginal :  raceme  usually 
solitary,  about  6-flowered,  much  shorter  than  the  leaf ;  pedicels  very 
short,  equalling  the  sheathing  bracts  :  sepals  brown-purple,  2  lines 
long,  somewhat  spreading,  fleshy,  oblong,  acutish,  the  lower  united  to 
the  middle  ;  petals  nearly  equalling  the  column,  thin,  ciliate,  broad- 
oblong,  obtusish,  brownish  above  ;  lip  somewhat  longer,  ligulate,  cili- 
ate, dark  brown,  not  crested :  column  yellowish,  narrow  below,  broadly 
winded  above,  the  wings  and  crest  ciliate-lacerate. —  Chocou  forests; 
described  from  plants  in  flower  at  Cambridge,  November,  1887.  Named 
in  memory  of  Mr.  Frank  E.  Blaisdell,  the  energetic  young  manager  of 
the  plantation  of  the  "  Tropical  Products  Company  "  upon  the  Chocon, 
to  whom  I  was  much  indebted  for  assistance  during  my  visit  there 
in  1885. 

Pleurothallis  Choconiana.  Of  the  Apodce  ccespitosce  group : 
stems  numerous,  very  short  (1  or  2  lines)  and  slender,  bearing  a 
peduncle  from  the  joint  below  the  single  leaf :  leaf  deep  green  (some- 
what cossious),  oblong-oblanceolate,  attenuate  to  a  slender  petiole, 
acute  or  obtusish  and  minutely  bidentate  at  the  apex,  thick-margined, 
smooth  above,  many-striate  beneath,  \  to  1  inch  long :  peduncle  fili- 
form, 2  to  4  inches  long,  4-6  flowered  ;  bracts  minute ;  pedicels  1  to 
3  lines  long :  lower  sepals  united  very  nearly  to  the  apex,  oblong- 
lanceolate,  gibbous  and  subsaccate  at  base,  yellowish,  faintly  4-nerved, 
3  or  4  lines  long,  the  upper  somewhat  shorter,  lanceolate,  acuminate, 
yellowish  with  3  brownish  nerves ;  petals  equalling  the  column,  ob- 
long, acutish,  pale  yellow  with  brown  midnerve ;  lip  somewhat  longer, 
ligulate,  entire,  obtuse,  channelled,  yellowish  with  2  or  3  brown  nerves: 
column  white,  narrowly  winged,  2-calloused  at  the  articulation  with  the 
lip.  —  In  the  Chocon  forests  and  at  the  ruins  of  Quirigua,  March 
and  April,  1885.  Described  from  plants  in  bloom  at  Cambridge, 
July,   1887. 

Pleurothallis  Brighami.  Of  the  same  group ;  stems  very 
slender  and  closely  cespitose  :  leaves  bright  green  and  shining  on 
both  sides,  not  striate  nor  margined,  oblanceolate,  acute  and  bidentate 
at  the  apex,  attenuate  at  base,  1  or  2  inches  long :  peduncle  filiform, 
equalling  the  leaf,  usually  1-flowered  ;  bracts  sheathing,  acuminate, 
2£  lines  long;  pedicel  4  lines  long:  lateral  sepals  united  to  above  the 
middle,  somewhat  gibbous,  oblong,  shortly  acuminate,  carinate,  4  lines 


286  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

Iodot,  brown  at  base,  yellowish  above  with  3  strong  brown  nerves  ; 
upper  sepal  oblong,  acute,  yellowish  with  brown  nerves ;  petals  spat- 
ulate,  acutish,  yellowish  with  a  brown  midnerve,  equalling  the  green 
and  brownish  column  (a  line  long)  ;  lip  narrowly  ligulate,  dark 
brown.  —  On  trees  in  the  Chocon  forests ;  described  from  plants  in 
flower  at  Cambridge,  August,  1887. 

Pleurothallis  minutiflora.  Of  the  same  group ;  cespitose, 
the  stems  very  short  and  slender:  leaves  rather  narrowly  elliptical, 
3-toothed  at  the  apex,  attenuate  to  the  slender  more  or  less  elongated 
petiole,  bright  green,  faintly  margined  and  faintly  few-nerved,  the 
blade  about  an  inch  long :  peduncle  very  short  and  slender  from  be- 
low the  base  of  the  leaf,  the  3-6-flowered  raceme  about  equalling  the 
petiole  ;  bracts  ovate,  acute,  sheathing  ;  pedicels  a  line  long:  perianth 
pale  yellow,  spreading;  sepals  lanceolate,  §  line  long,  the  lower  united 
to  below  the  middle,  subfalcate,  acuminate,  nerveless,  the  upper  acute, 
faintly  1 -nerved  ;  petals  lineax'-lanceolate,  acuminate,  a  little  shorter ; 
lip  thick  and  fleshy,  broadly  ligulate,  papillose,  orange-colored :  column 
broadly  winged.  —  Chocon  forests  ;  described  from  plants  in  flower  at 
Cambridge,  August,  1887. 

Scaphyglottis  longicaulis.  Stems  densely  clustered,  terete 
and  slender,  scarcely  enlarged  above  the  short  slender  base,  the  joints 
(the  lower  4  inches  long)  covered  below  by  a  close  thin  whitish  sheath : 
leaves  linear  and  grass-like,  2  to  4  inches  long  by  1  to  1^  lines  wide  : 
flowers  solitary  or  few,  on  short  slender  pedicels,  the  narrow  ovary  6 
lines  long:  sepals  connivent,  purplish,  channelled,  3  lines  long,  the 
lower  linear-oblong,  broadening  upward  and  obliquely  truncate  with 
a  short  lateral  acumination,  strongly  gibbous  at  base,  the  upper  linear- 
oblanceolate  ;  petals  apparently  wanting  ;  lip  equalling  and  resembling 
the  upper  sepal  but  dilated  toward  the  summit  and  broadly  3-lobed, 
the  lateral  lobes  very  thin,  pale  and  incurved :  column  narrowly  mar- 
gined, whitish,  nearly  equalling  the  sepals.  —  From  the  Chocon  for- 
ests ;  in  flower  at  Cambridge,  November,  1887. 

Maxillaria  Yzabalana.  Of  the  Acaules  section  ;  pseudobulbs 
compressed-globose,  smooth,  1  to  2  inches  in  diameter,  bearing  a  single 
flat  coriaceous  leaf  complicate  at  base  into  a  petiole  \  to  H  inches 
long,  the  blade  4  to  10  inches  long  by  £  to  H  broad,  acute:  flower 
fragrant,  subdeclinate,  the  pedicel  and  ovary  covered  by  3  or  4  ovate 
imbricated  greenish  bracts  9  lines  long :  perianth  connivent,  the  nar- 
rowly oblong  acute  sepals  12  to  14  lines  long,  orange  within,  greenish 
yellow  without,  scarcely  exceeding  the  white  narrowly  lanceolate  acute 
petals ;  lip  half  as  long,  oblong,  somewhat  lobed,  the  thin  lateral  lobes 


OP  ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  287 

veined  with  purple,  the  thick  middle  lobe  yellowish  with  an  orange 
centre  and  a  purple  spot  without  on  each  side  near  the  undulate  mar- 
gin :  column  white,  shorter  than  the  lip,  margined.  —  In  the  forests  of 
the  Rio  Dulce ;  in  flower  at  Cambridge,  November,  1887. 

Among  other  orchids  brought  by  me  from  eastern  Guatemala, 
which  have  flowered  at  Cambridge,  have  been  Restrepia  peduncular  is, 
Benth.,  Stelis  ciliaris,  Lindl.,  a  variety  (?)  of  Gongora  quinquenervis, 
Ruiz  &  Pavon,  Diacrium  bigibberosum,  Benth.  &  Hook.,  Epidendrum 
alatum,  Batem.,  E.  acicidare,  Batem.,  E.  coc/deatum,  Linn.,  E.  noc- 
turnum,  Linn.,  Schomburgkia  tibicinis,  Batem.,  and  variety,  Oncidium 
luridum,  Lindl.,  Catasetum  maculatum,  Kunth,  Cycnoches  ventricosum, 
Batem.,  Lycaste  aromatica,  Lindl.,  Chysis  Icevis,  Batem.,  etc. 

#       * 

Gymnolomia  tp.iloba,  Gray.  This  species  has  been  distributed 
under  the  name  of  Zaluzania  triloba,  Pers.,  in  Mr.  Pringle's  collections 
of  1886  (n.  755)  and  1887  (n.  1310). 


288  PROCEEDINGS    OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 


XVIII. 

CONTRIBUTIONS  FROM  THE  JEFFERSON  PHYSICAL 

LABORATORY. 

WAVE-LENGTHS   OF   METALLIC   SPECTRA  IN   THE 

ULTRA   VIOLET. 

By  John  Trowbridge  and  W.  C.  Sabine. 

Presented  March  14, 1888. 

PART  I. 

Introduction! 

The  Catalogue  of  Metallic  Spectra,  revised  by  a  Committee  of  the 
British  Association,  and  published  in  its  volumes  for  1885  and  1887,  is 
an  extremely  valuable  contribution  to  the  subject  of  spectrum  analy- 
sis;  it  contains  the  material  for  future  generalization  in  regard  to  the 
molecular  structure  of  so-called  elements,  or  in  regard  to  the  harmonic 
relations  which  may  exist  between  their  wave-lengths.  Here  can  be 
found  in  juxtaposition  the  results  of  various  observers  upon  the  metal- 
lic spectra  of  the  same  metal,  and  the  student  can  judge  of  the  relative 
accuracy  of  the  results.  A  superficial  inspection  of  this  Catalogue  will 
show  that  even  distinguished  observers,  like  Thalen  and  Kirch hoff, 
often  differ  in  their  results  by  one  part  in  4,000,  or  one  part  in  2,500. 
No  observer  of  metallic  spectra  gives  results  to  more  than  one  tenth 
of  Angstrom's  unit,  or  to  more  than  one  tenth  of  one  wave-length. 
Physical  science,  however,  now  demands  a  greater  degree  of  accuracy. 
Various  hypotheses  in  regard  to  the  apparent  coincidences  between 
lines  of  metallic  spectra  and  lines  in  the  solar  spectrum  have  been  pro- 
pounded, and  can  only  be  settled  by  more  accurate  measurements  of 
wave-lengths.  There  are  also  questions  constantly  arising  in  regard 
to  the  displacement  of  lines  of  spectra  due  to  the  motion  of  the  stars 
and  to  changes  of  temperature,  which  require  a  greater  degree  of  accu- 
racy in  the  measurement  of  wave-lengths  of  gaseous  and  metallic  spec- 
tra than  the  results  of  previous  observers  afford.  It  may  be  remarked, 
that  observations  upon  the  metallic  spectra  of  metals  from  the  limits 
of  the  visible  red  to  the  limits  of  the  visible  violet  have  become  com- 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  289 

paratively  easy  ;  for  the  solar  spectrum  can  be  used  to  identify  the 
lines  of  the  metals,  and  to  ascertain  their  wave-lengths.  It  is  only  in 
the  extreme  infra  red  region  and  in  the  ultra  violet  that  such  observa- 
tions  become  difficult.  In  these  regions  we  must  trust  to  photography 
to  reproduce  by  long  exposures  of  the  sensitive  plate  the  feeble  lines 
of  metals  which  may  manifest  themselves  there.  In  the  infra  red 
region,  as  far  as  wave-length  10,000,  it  is  possible  to  photograph  the 
solar  lines,  and  we  can  compare  the  spectra  of  such  metallic  lines 
as  may  exist  between  the  A  line  and  the  limit  10,000  with  the  solar 
spectrum.  Beyond  this  limit,  and  beyond  wave-length  2800  in  the 
violet,  the  solar  spectrum  disappears,  and  the  problem  of  measuring 
the  wave-length  of  metallic  lines  which  extend  beyond  these  limits 
becomes  a  difficult  one. 

Besides  the  resolution  of  the  difficulty  of  measuring  the  wave- 
lengths of  the  invisible  rays  of  light  with  proper  accuracy,  the  meas- 
urement of  such  wave-lengths  is  destined  to  prove  a  crucial  test  for 
various  theories  which  must  arise  in  the  progress  of  physical  science. 
The  lines  of  the  metals  are  exceedingly  numerous  in  the  ultra  violet 
region,  far  more  so  than  in  the  infra  red  region.  If  there  are  any  har- 
monic relations  between  the  wave-lengths  of  the  spectra  of  metals, 
it  is  here  that  one  might  expect  to  observe  such  relations.  Indeed, 
Professor  Griiuwald  of  Prague  has  lately  enunciated  a  remarkable 
hypothesis  upon  the  relations  between  the  wave-lengths  of  so-called 
elements,  and  finds  in  the  observations  of  various  observers  in  the 
ultra  violet  a  strong  confirmation  of  his  hypothesis.  In  any  theo- 
retical work  upon  the  grouping  of  spectral  lines,  it  is  of  fundamental 
importance  that  the  wave-lengths  of  the  lines  should  be  determined 
with  as  great  accuracy  as  possible.  The  coincidence  of  metallic  lines 
with  solar  lines  is  at  the  best  a  doubtful  piece  of  evidence.  This 
evidence  is  of  moment  only  when  the  number  of  coincidences  becomes 
great,  and  is  accompanied  by  characteristic  grouping.  A  mistake  of  a 
wave-length  in  the  question  of  position  is  sufficient  to  destroy  the 
support  which  the  author  of  any  hypothesis  might  claim  for  it. 

Conditions  for  Accuracy  of  Measurement. 

All  measurements  of  wave-lengths  hitherto  published  have  been 
made  by  the  old  method  of  angular  measurements  with  a  spectrometer. 
We  say  old,  for  the  use  of  Rowland's  concave  grating  with  its  peculiar 
mounting  must  be  characterized  as  a  new  method  and  a  new  departure 
in  measurements  of  wave-lengths.  The  observation  of  wave-lengths 
of  metallic  spectra  by  the  eye  is  most  laborious,  and  the  photo- 
VOL.  XXIII.  (n.  s.  xv.)  19 


290  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

graphic  plate  must  be  substituted  for  the  eye  for  most  purposes.  The 
angular  positions  of  the  spectral  lines  on  such  a  plate  assume  great 
importance,  for  upon  these  positions  depend  the  value  of  the  wave- 
lengths. In  the  operation  of  photographing  spectral  lines,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  substitute,  for  the  observing  telescope  and  micrometer  eye- 
piece of  the  spectrometer,  a  camera  box  provided  with  a  suitable  lens, 
and  with  a  plate  holder  for  the  photographic  plate.  Unless  the  latter 
is  small,  the  spectrum  will  not  be  in  focus  on  all  parts  of  the  plate ; 
moreover,  unless  the  distance  of  the  photographic  plate  from  the  dif- 
fraction grating  employed  is  comparatively  large,  the  distances  between 
the  spectral  lines  on  the  photograph  will  not  be  proportional  to  wave- 
lengths. To  determine  these  wave-lengths  recourse  must  be  had  to 
various  devices.  The  one  usually  employed  is  due  to  Cornu,  and  can 
be  found  described  in  the  Annales  de  l'Ecole  Normale,  2  serie,  torn.  iii. 
p.  421 ;  also  in  Journal  de  Physique,  X.,  1881,  p.  425.  It  consists  in 
photographing  images  of  the  slit  of  the  spectroscope  upon  the  photo- 
graphic plate,  by  turning  the  graduated  circle  of  the  spectrometer 
through  measured  angles.  These  photographic  images  serve  as  fiducial 
marks,  by  means  of  which  wave-lengths  of  spectral  lines  on  the  plate 
can  be  calculated.  In  the  case  of  diffraction  spectra  obtained  by  de- 
flecting a  bundle  of  parallel  rays  at  the  angle  of  incidence,  i,  with  a 
deviation  of  order  n,  An  is  connected  to  the  wave-length  A,  and  with  a 
certain  constant,  a,  of  the  grating  by  the  formula 

_        .An  /.        An\ 

2  a  sin  -~-  cos  \i 5-  1  =  n  A. 

It  is  evident  that  at  least  two  errors  can  arise  in  the  use  of  this  formula  ; 
one  from  defective  graduation  of  the  circle  of  the  spectrometer  ;  another 
from  the  process  of  referring  from  the  photographs  of  the  slit  on  the 
plate  to  the  photographs  of  the  metallic  lines. 

We  select  the  work  of  Hartley  and  Adeney  *  as  perhaps  the  best 
type  of  this  method  of  using  a  camera  with  a  spectrometer.  Their 
work  is  characterized  by  great  care  and  thoroughness,  and  no  one 
could  probably  attain  better  results  by  the  use  of  a  flat  grating,  with 
its  concomitants  of  collimator,  photographing  lens,  and  camera.  These 
observers  state  that  they  were  not  troubled  by  the  underlying  spectrum 
of  a  higher  order  than  that  which  they  photographed,  for  it  was  not 
brought  to  a  focus  with  the  latter.  In  the  new  method  we  propose  to 
illustrate,  all  the  spectra  are  in  focus  together,  and  this  fact,  instead  of 


*  Philosophical  Transactions,  CLXXV.,  1884,  pp.  63-137. 


OF   ARTS    AND   SCIENCES.  291 

being  an  obstacle,  can  be  turned  to  great  advantage.  In  the  absolute 
measurements  of  tbe  wave-length  of  light,  the  spectrometer  method 
with  eye  observation  and  with  a  micrometer  is  unquestionably  more 
accurate  than  any  photographic  method.  We  have  in  this  determina- 
tion to  deal  with  comparatively  large  quantities,  and  with  well  defined 
directions,  which  can  be  made  to  coincide  with  optical  axes  of  the 
instrument ;  this  is  not  the  case,  however,  with  the  majority  of  the 
spectral  lines  on  a  photographic  plate  placed  in  a  camera,  which 
replaces  the  observing  telescope  of  the  spectrometer.  The  photograph 
contains  possible  errors,  and  any  shifting  or  movement  of  the  spec- 
trometer circle  to  determine  intervals  on  the  photographic  plate  is  apt 
to  introduce  other  errors. 

The  ideal  arrangement  would  seem,  therefore,  to  be  a  photographic 
apparatus  which  should  remain  in  focus  for  all  the  spectra  of  the  dif- 
ferent orders,  in  which  distances  between  successive  lines  on  the  photo- 
graphs of  the  spectra  should  be  closely  proportional  to  wave-lengths, 
so  that,  the  constant  being  known  for  a  certain  position  of  the  sensitive 
plate,  the  wave-lengths  can  be  determined  by  simple  linear  measure- 
ment. Moreover,  it  is  desirable,  as  we  have  said,  that  the  underlying 
spectra  should  be  brought  to  the  same  focus  as  the  overlying;  for  by 
this  means  we  can  compare  the  wave-lengths  of  lines  in  the  spectra  of 
different  orders,  and  halve  our  errors.  It  is  true  that  some  confusion 
results  from  having  the  metallic  lines  in  the  spectra  of  different  orders 
photographed  upon  the  same  plate  ;  but  a  little  experience  enables  one 
to  separate  the  lines  with  comparative  ease,  and  the  gain  in  accuracy 
compensates  for  the  additional  trouble. 

The  apparatus  which  best  answers  the  requisitions  we  have  pointed 
out  is  that  of  the  concave  grating  of  Rowland,  with  its  peculiar  mount- 
ing, which  has  been  fully  described  in  the  American  Journal  of 
Science,  Vol.  XXVI.,  1883,  p.  87. 

Objects  of  the  Present  Investigation. 

The  conclusion  of  the  work  of  the  Committee  of  the  British  Asso- 
ciation on  the  tabulation  of  metallic  spectra  seemed  to  us  to  require  a 
survey  of  the  work,  which  must  be  done  in  the  future  in  order  to  per- 
fect and  correct  the  work  of  the  past.  We  have  therefore  examined 
the  tables  given  by  the  committee  in  order  to  see  what  lacunar  could 
be  supplied,  and  to  point  out  the  directions  for  routine  work  which 
may  afford  material  for  future  generalizations.  In  the  pursuance  of 
this  work,  we  have  been  compelled  to  examine  the  accuracy  of  meas- 
urements of  wave-lengths  hitherto  made  in  the  ultra  violet.     With 


292  PROCEEDINGS    OP    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

the  aid  of  the  new  Map  of  the  Solar  Spectrum  published  by  Professor 
Rowland,  it  is  very  easy  to  determine  the  wave-length  of  metallic  lines 
in  the  visible  spectra  of  metals ;  for  it  is  merely  necessary  to  photo- 
graph a  portion  of  the  solar  spectrum  upon  the  same  plate  as  that 
which  receives  the  spectra  of  the  metals  under  consideration,  and  then 
to  refer  to  the  published  map.  We  have  already  remarked,  that  even 
a  superficial  examination  of  hitherto  published  catalogues  of  wave- 
lengths of  metallic  spectra  will  show  that  distinguished  observers  differ 
in  their  determinations  by  one  or  two  wave-lengths.  The  task  of  re- 
measuring  the  wave-lengths  of  metallic  lines  is  a  very  great  one,  and 
approaches  in  character  the  routine  work  now  prosecuted  in  astro- 
nomical observatories  in  the  redetermination  of  star  places,  the  photo- 
metric intensities  of  stars,  and  the  classification  of  star  spectra.  In 
our  present  work  we  have  confined  our  attention  to  ultra  violet  spec- 
tra. Since  the  solar  spectrum  disappears  in  the  neighborhood  of  wave- 
length 2800,  the  task  of  identification  of  wave-lengths  becomes  a  very 
serious  one.  To  replace  the  solar  spectrum  we  must  refer  the  lines 
of  metallic  spectra  to  carefully  measured  lines  of  certain  metals.  When 
one  metal  ceases  to  give  spectral  lines,  another  must  be  selected.  To 
test  the  relative  accuracy  of  what  we  have  termed  the  old  method  of 
measurement  with  that  of  the  new,  we  have  measured  the  lines  of 
electrolytic  copper,  and  have  compared  our  results  with  those  of  pre- 
vious observers  in  regard  to  the  distribution  of  errors.  Besides  the 
comparison  of  accuracy,  we  have  examined  the  limit  of  the  spectra  of 
copper  in  the  ultra  violet,  in  order  to  see  if  that  given  by  previous 
observers  could  be  extended. 

Apparatus. 

The  apparatus  consisted  of  a  concave  grating  of  21  ft.  6  in.  radius, 
mounted  in  the  manner  described  by  Professor  Rowland.  The  camera 
was  provided  with  a  shutter,  which  enabled  us  to  expose  different 
portions  of  the  sensitive  plate  at  pleasure.  An  alterating  dynamo 
machine  was  employed,  together  with  a  Ruhmkorf  coil.  The  alter- 
ating machine  gave  from  eight  to  ten  thousand  reversals  per  second. 
With  a  battery  of  from  six  to  ten  two-quart  Leyden  jars,  a  powerful 
spark  was  obtained  between  the  metallic  terminals  which  we  employed. 
The  spark  was  produced  close  to  the  slit  of  the  apparatus,  and  the 
time  of  exposure  varied  from  one  to  two  hours.  At  various  times 
endeavors  were  made  to  substitute  the  more  powerful  light  of  the 
carbon  electric  light  for  the  electric  spark,  in  the  hope  of  shortening  the 
time  of  exposure ;  but  these  efforts  were  not  successful.     If  they  had 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  293 

been,  we  should  have  been  obliged  to  struggle  with  the  question  of 
impurities  in  the  carbons.  An  exposure  of  fifteen  minu.tes  to  the  ultra 
violet  spectra  of  metals  burned  in  the  electric  light  produced  no  image 
below  wave-length  3000.  A  quartz  condensing  lens  was  employed 
with  the  arc  light,  and  therefore  no  light  was  lost  by  selective  absorp- 
tion.    With  the  spark  no  lens  was  necessary. 

By  curving  the  photographic  plate  all  parts  of  it  remain  in  focus, 
and  distances  on  the  plate  are  closely  proportioned  to  wave-lengths. 
Calling  Y=  wave-length,  we  have  T=  C  +  a  x,  where  (7  and  a  are 
constants,  and  x  is  the  distance  along  the  plate. 

The  determination  of  the  wave-lengths  of  lines  extending  over  a 
ranjie  of  three  hundred  tenth  meters  involved  the  taking:  of  three 
negatives.  The  sensitive  dry  plate  (2  X  10  inches)  was  pressed  by 
springs  against  the  "  forms  "  of  the  plate-holder  into  an  arc  of  a  circle. 
Having  placed  the  plate-holder  on  the  camera  box,  the  girder  bearing 
the  camera  and  grating  was  moved  along  its  tracks  until  the  posi- 
tion of  the  pointer  of  the  carriage  on  the  scale  beside  the  track  indi- 
cated that  light  of  wave-lengths  4200  to  4800  in  the  first  spectrum 
and  2100  to  2400  in  the  second  spectrum  would  fall  on  the  plate. 
The  shutter  was  turned  so  as  to  expose  only  the  lower  half  of  the 
plate  and  a  photograph  of  the  solar  spectrum  from  4200  to  4800 
taken.  The  shutter  was  again  turned,  and  the  upper  half  of  the  plate 
given  a  long  exposure  to  the  light  of  the  spark.  Both  spectra  were  in 
focus.  The  wave-lengths  of  the  metal  lines  were  then  found  directly, 
by  interpolation  on  the  normal  spectrum,  from  the  solar  lines  whose 
values  were  given  in  Rowland's  Photographic  Map  and  table  of  wave- 
lengths.* The  interpolation  was  made  by  means  of  measurements  on 
a  dividing  engine.  In  order  to  correct  for  any  displacement  due  to 
the  motion  of  the  spark  from  side  to  side,  or  to  jarring  arising  from  the 
great  noise  of  the  spark,  and  also  in  order  to  sift  out  the  lines  belong- 
ing to  the  first  spectrum  from  those  belonging  to  the  second,  the  girder 
was  moved  to  the  violet  of  the  third,  with  its  magnified  dispersion  and 
different  underlying  spectra.  The  metal  and  solar  lines  were  taken 
side  by  side,  and  the  interpolation  for  the  wave-lengths  of  the  metal 
lines  made  as  before.  From  this  the  correction  to  be  applied  to  the  pre- 
vious plate  was  found,  amounting  in  some  cases  to  .2  of  a  tenth  meter. 
The  correction  thus  found  was  applied  to  all  of  the  lines  on  the  plate. 
The  girder  was  now  moved  so  that  the  sensitive  plate  was  in  the  ex- 
treme ultra  violet  of  the  first  spectrum,  and  the  plate  exposed  to  the 

*  American  Journal  of  Science,  March,  1887. 


294  PROCEEDINGS   OP   THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

light  from  the  spark.  From  this  negative  the  value  of  the  wave- 
lengths of  the  faint  lines  were  obtained  by  interpolation  from  the 
values  of  the  stronger  lines  as  determined  by  the  first  plate.  It  also 
served  as  the  final  test  whether  the  lines  on  the  first  negative  were 
of  the  first  or  second  order.  All  of  the  lines  more  refrangible  than 
line  2123.1  were  in  the  case  of  copper  found  from  this  negative  and 
from  line  2136.1  by  direct  measurement. 

Another  method  of  distinguishing  which  lines  on  the  first  negative 
belong  to  the  second  and  which  to  the  first  spectrum,  is  to  place  in 
front  of  the  slit  while  taking  the  metal  lines  a  piece  of  plane  glass. 
The  second  spectrum  for  this  refrangibility  will  be  completely  cut  out, 
and  only  the  metal  lines  of  the  first  remain,  being  in  the  visible  violet. 

The  only  source  of  error  was  in  the  setting  of  the  microscope  upon 
the  broad  or  faint  lines.  The  probable  error  of  this  is  about  .1  tenth 
meter.     For  the  few  most  refrangible  lines  it  may  be  greater. 

Effect  of  Change  of  Temperature  of  Source  of  Light  on  Constancy  of 

Position  of  Metallic  Lines. 
In  the  process  of  the  investigation  we  were  much  troubled  by  a 
slight  shifting  in  position  of  the  metallic  lines  upon  the  photographs. 
This  shifting  could  be  observed  when  the  metallic  lines  were  com- 
pared  with  a  solar  spectrum  taken  upon  the  same  plate.  The  amount 
of  this  shifting  in  no  case  amounted  to  more  than  .1  or  .2  of  a  wave- 
length. At  first  we  thought  it  might  be  possible  that  there  was  a 
change  in  refrangibility  of  the  metallic  lines  due  to  a  difference  in 
temperature  of  the  source  of  light,  and  a  long  study  was  made  of 
the  influence  of  the  temperature  of  the  source  of  light  upon  its  wave- 
length. When  a  metal  was  burned  in  the  carbon  electric  light  with 
varying  strength  of  current,  no  displacement  could  be  observed  between 
the  lines  of  the  metal  photographed  beneath  each  other  upon  the  same 
sensitive  plate.  When  the  electric  spark  with  a  large  battery  of  Ley- 
den  jars  was  substituted  for  the  electric  arc,  and  the  metallic  lines 
obtained  by  the  light  of  the  spark  were  compared  with  those  from  the 
arc,  occasionally  a  small  displacement  could  be  observed.  This  did 
not  seem  to  arise  from  a  change  of  position  of  the  source  of  light,  or 
from  the  heating  of  the  slit  of  the  spectroscope.  A  careful  study  of 
the  iron  lines  showed  us  that  the  wave-length  of  the  iron  lines  in  the 
sun  and  those  obtained  from  burning  iron  in  the  electric  arc  were  the 
same  to  certainly  one  hundredth  of  a  wave-length.  The  displacement 
we  observed  was  noticed  only  when  the  electric  spark  was  employed! 
This  shifting  did  not  arise  from  a  change  of  position  of  the  spark  in 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  295 

our  apparatus,  for  it  could  not  be  produced  at  will  by  changing  the 
position  of  the  source  of  light.  Moreover,  when  the  arc  light  was 
placed  in  the  same  position  that  the  spark  occupied,  no  displacement 
could  be  observed  in  photographs  taken  by  the  aid  of  tbe  arc.  We 
were  forced  to  conclude  that  through  the  range  of  temperature  af- 
forded by  the  electric  arc  and  the  electric  spark  the  wave-lengths  of 
the  metallic  lines  were  constant.  The  displacement  we  observed  was 
therefore  referred  to  a  jarring  of  the  apparatus  due  to  the  noise  of  the 
electric  spark.  When  the  camera  was  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  slit  of  the  spectroscope,  the  displacement  was  diminished,  and 
sometimes  entirely  disappeared.  The  entire  apparatus  was  very  solid, 
and  the  camera  was  clamped  to  a  massive  girder.  It  was  difficult, 
therefore,  to  believe  that  the  displacement  could  arise  from  the  noise 
of  the  spark.  We  believe,  however,  that  it  can  be  ascribed  to  this 
cause,  and  that  the  wave-lengths  of  metallic  lines  produced  by  burn- 
ing metals  in  the  electric  arc  or  by  vaporization  in  the  electric  spark 
are  to  one  hundredth  of  a  wave-length  the  same  as  those  of  the  corre- 
sponding lines  in  the  sun. 

Results. 

In  the  following  table  we  have  adopted  the  same  symbols  and 
letters  to  designate  the  character  of  the  lines  which  the  Committee  of 
the  British  Association  have  employed.  Column  1  refers  to  the  in- 
tensity on  a  scale  of  10.  Column  2  gives  our  measures  of  the  wave- 
lengths of  the  copper  lines  in  the  ultraviolet,  from  wave-length  2369.9 
to  1944.1.  Column  3  contains  the  measures  of  these  lines  by  Hartley 
and  Adeney.  Column  4  are  the  corrections  to  be  applied  to  Hart- 
ley and  Adeney's  results.  Column  5  contains  measurements  by  Live- 
ing  and  Dewar.  Column  6,  corrections  to  be  applied  to  their  results. 
Column  7  gives  the  symbols  adopted  by  the  Committee  of  the  British 
Association,  which  serve  to  describe  the  character  of  the  line. 


296 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 


1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

Ware-lengths 

Hartley 

Living  and 

Intensity. 
B.  A. 

Intensity. 

of  copper  lines. 

and 

Corrections. 

Dewar. 

Corrections. 

Spark. 

Adeney. 

Arc. 

9 

2369.9 

2370.1 

—  .2 

9  br 

1 

2368.8 

2368.7 
2365.8 

+    .1 



2  sd 
1 

4 

2356*7 

2357.2 

—  '.5 

■   •    ■    • 

5  scl 

3 

2355.2 

2355.0 

+  -2 

•   ■    •   » 

2  sd 

3 

2348.8 

2348.8 

0 

2  sd 

1 

2346.2 

2346.2 

0 

■   ■    •   a 

2  sd 

3 

2336.3 

2336.6 

—  .3 

•  a  •  a 

3  sd 

•  ■  •  ■ 

2303.8 

.  , 

.... 

1  sd 

1 

2299.6 

2300.5 

—  .9 

•  ■   ■  • 

1  sd 

,  . 

*  •  •  • 

2297.5 

,  . 

•  •   •  • 

1  sd 

7 

2294.4 

2295.0 

—  .6 

2294.1 

+.8 

6  sd 

1 

2293.9 

2294.6 

—  .7 

•  •   •  • 

3  sd 

3 

2291.1 

2291.4 

—  .3 

■  •   •  • 

3  sd 

3 

2286.7 

2286.7 

0 

•  •  •  • 

3  sd 

2 

2278.4 

2279.6 

—1.2 

•    •    ■    a 

2  sd 

6 

2276.3 

2277.0 

—  .7 

2276.0 

+.8 

6  sd 

2 

2265.5 

2265.8 

—  .3 

•   •    •    a 

2  sd 

2 

2263.9 

2263.9 

0 

2263.6 

+.8 

3  rid 

2 

2263.2 

2263.2 

0 

a    ■    •    ■ 

3nd 

2 

2255.1 

2257.7 

—1.6 

•    ■    ■    • 

2  sd 

2 

2249.0 

2250.0 

—10 

a    •    a    a 

2  sd 

7 

2247.0 

2248.2 
2247.7 

—1.2 

2246.6 

+•4 

9  sd 
3  rid 

7 

2242.7 

2244.0 
22435 

— i.3 

2242.2 

+.5 

9  sd 
3nd 

1 

2231.7 

2233.0 

— 1*3 

.... 

3  sd 

1 

2231.0 

2332.2 

—1.2 

a    .    .    a 

3  sd 

3 

2230.1 

2231.2 

—1.1 

2229  6 

+.5 

5  sd 

3 

2228.9 

2230.0 

—1.1 

2228.3 

+.6 

5  sd 

2 

2227.8 

2229.1 

—1.3 

.... 

3  sd 

1 

2226.9 

2228  1 

—1.2 

.... 

3  sd 

1 

2225.7 

2227.0 

—1.3 

a    a    •    • 

1  sd 

1 

2224.8 

2226  0 

—1.2 

a    a    a    a 

1  sd 

6 

2218.2 

2219.3 
2218  5 

—1.1 

2217.5 

+.7 

6  sd 
3nd 

i 

2215.3 

2216.5 

— i.2 

.... 

3nd 

1 

2214.4 

2215.8 

—1.4 

.... 

3  sd 

2 

2213.0 

2214.1 

—1.1 

.... 

2  sd 

6 

2210.3 

2211.3 

—1.0 

2209.7 

+.6 

6  sd 

.   , 

•  •  ■  ■ 

2210.8 

,  , 

.... 

3nd 

.  , 

•  •   •  • 

2208.8 

.  , 

a    a    a    a 

2  sd 

2 

2200.6 

2200.3 

+  -3 

•    a    a    a 

3  sd 

3 

2199.8 

2199.8 

0 

2199.2 

+.6 

lnd 

3 

2196.9 

2196.5 

+  -4 

a    a    a    • 

3  sd 

4 

2192.4 

2192.0 

+  .4 

2191.8 

+.6 

6  sd 

2191.2 

.... 

3nd 

4 

2189.9 

2189.6 

+'.8 

2189.2 

+.v 

6  sd 

•  • 

2188.5 

a    a    a    • 

3  ml 

1 

2181.8 

2181.0 

+  '•8 

.... 

1  sd 

4 

2179.5 

2179.0 

+  -5 

2178.8 

+.7 

5  sd 

.  . 

2178.0 

.... 

3nd 

3 

2175.2 

2174.5 

+  '•7 

.... 

3  sd 

OF    ARTS   AND  SCIENCES. 


297 


1. 

'2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

Wave-lengths 

Hartley 

Liveing  and 

Intensity. 
B.  A. 

Intensity. 

of  copper  lines. 

and 

Corrections. 

Dewar. 

Corrections. 

Spark. 

Adeney. 

Arc. 

3 

2149.2 

2148.8 

+  -4 

2148.9 

+.3 

3  sd 

4 

2136.1 

2135.8 

+  -3 

2135.7 

+•4 

3  sd 

n 
O 

2134.6 

2134.2 

+  -4 

•  •  •  • 

2nd 

3 

2126.2 

2124.4 

+1.8 

•  •  ■  • 

.  . 

3  sd 

3 

2125.3 

2124.0 

+1.3 

•  *   •  • 

.   . 

2nd 

3 

2123.1 

2122.1 
2121.5 

+1.0 



3  sd 
2nd 

3 

2117.5 

2116.0 

+1.5 



.   , 

1  sd 

3 

2112.2 

2110.5 

+1.7 

•  >   •  ■ 

.  , 

1  sd 

o 

o 

•J  104.9 

2103.0 

+1.9 

•  •   •  ■ 

,   . 

1  sd 

2 

2098.6 

1 

2093  9 

2 

2088.1 

2 

2085.5 

2 

2078.8 

1 

2067.0 

1 

2062.7 

2 

2055.1 

2 

2045.0 

2 

2037.3 

2 

2036.0 

1 

2030.9 

2 

2025.7 

1 

2016.9 

1 

2015.8 

1 

2013.2 

2 

1999.9 

2 

1989.4 

2 

1979.4 

1 

1970.4 

1 

1944.1 

Conclusions. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  corrections  to  be  applied  to  the  wave- 
lengths obtained  by  Liveing  and  Dewar  are  progressive  in  their  nature 
when  compared  with  those  which  must  be  applied  to  the  results  of 
Hartley  and  Adeney.  The  difficulty  in  identifying  lines  and  deter- 
mining coincidences  by  employing  the  tables  of  metallic  spectra  in  the 
ultra  violet,  published  by  the  British  Association,  is  illustrated  by  our 
work ;  for  certain  lines  measured  by  Liveing  and  Dewar,  which  are 
identified  by  the  committee  with  lines  given  by  Hartley  and  Adeney, 
are  in  reality  removed  from  each  other,  one  or  two  lines  intervening. 
In  certain  cases  the  lines  of  Liveing  and  Dewar  are  wholly  beyond 
identification  with  those  given  by  Hartley  and  Adeney. 

The  results  of  our  inquiry  into  the  accuracy  of  the  results  of  previ- 


298  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

ous  observers  in  measuring  wave-lengths  of  metallic  spectra  in  the 
ultra  violet  can  be  summed  up  as  follows. 

1.  "We  believe  that  the  method  of  photographing  images  of  the  slit 
upon  the  photographic  plate,  due  to  Cornu,  in  order  to  determine 
positions,  leads  to  unavoidable  errors. 

2.  The  best  method  of  determining  wave-lengths  of  metallic  spec- 
tra is  by  the  use  of  concave  gratings ;  for  linear  measurements  are 
substituted  for  angular  ones ;  underlying  spectra  are  brought  to  the 
same  focus  as  overlying  spectra  ;  and,  since  a  great  number  of  lines 
are  in  focus  on  the  same  plate,  the  conditions  are  the  same  for  all, 
viz.  breadth  of  slit,  length  of  exposure,  and  source  of  light. 

3.  Hypotheses  in  regard  to  coincidences  of  gaseous  and  metallic 
spectra  cannot  be  safely  based  upon  existing  measurements  of  spectra 
in  the  ultra  violet. 

4.  The  limit  of  the  copper  lines  is  extended  by  our  investigation. 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  299 


XIX. 

CONTRIBUTIONS    FROM    THE    JEFFERSON    PHYSICAL 

LABORATORY. 

SELECTIVE    ABSORPTION    OF   METALS    FOR    ULTRA 

VIOLET    LIGHT. 

By  John  Trowbridge  and  W.  C.  Sabine. 

Presented  March  14, 1888. 

The  question  of  the  absorption  of  the  ultra  violet  rays  by  metallic 
surfaces  possesses  considerable  interest,  both  from  a  practical  and  a 
theoretical  point  of  view.  By  the  kindness  of  Professor  Pickering, 
Director  of  the  Harvard  University  Observatory,  we  were  provided 
with  a  number  of  metallic  surfaces  prepared  by  Professor  Wright  of 
Yale  College.  These  metallic  surfaces  were  deposited  upon  glass  by 
means  of  electricity.  The  surfaces  were  of  gold,  platinum,  tellurium, 
palladium,  copper,  silver,  and  steel.  A  preliminary  trial  had  shown 
us  that  a  heliostat  mirror  of  the  same  composition  as  that  upon  which 
the  grating  was  ruled  did  not  absorb  light  of  greater  wave-length  than 
2900.  We  resolved,  therefore,  to  compare  other  metals  with  specu- 
lum metal.  Since  our  heliostat  arrangement  required  two  mirrors  to 
direct  the  light  upon  the  slit  of  the  spectroscope,  we  employed  a 
speculum  mirror  for  the  movable  mirror  of  the  heliostat,  and  replaced 
the  fixed  mirror  by  mirrors  of  the  metals  whose  selective  absorption 
we  wished  to  compare  with  that  of  speculum  metal.  To  our  surprise, 
the  metallic  mirrors  of  gold,  copper,  nickel,  steel,  silver,  tellurium,  and 
palladium  all  reached  the  same  limit  as  speculum  metal.  Here  was 
a  complete  experimental  proof  that  color  in  no  way  influences  the 
selective  absorption  of  metals  for  the  ultra  violet  rays ;  for  the  copper 
mirror,  which  gave  a  strong  yellow  light  by  reflection,  was  as  capable 
of  reflecting  light  of  as  short  wave-length  as  the  brilliant  white  surface 
of  polished  silver.  Although  the  metallic  surfaces  we  employed  were 
bright,  slight  differences  in  polish  undoubtedly  existed,  and  therefore 
we  are  not  justified  in  placing  much  reliance  upon  the  evidence  pre- 
sented by  the  intensity  of  the  photographs  of  the  solar  spectrum  ob- 
tained by  light  reflected  into  the  spectroscope  by  these  various  metallic 


300  PROCEEDINGS   OP    THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

surfaces.  The  photographs,  however,  can  be  classified  according  to 
intensity  in  order  of  numbers  as  follows,  —  number  1  indicating  the 
greatest  intensity:  1,  steel;  2,  gold;  3,  platinum;  4,  palladium; 
5,  silver ;    6,  tellurium ;    7,  copper. 

It  was  evident  from  these  experiments  that  the  selective  absorption 
of  metals  is  far  less  than  the  absorption  exercised  by  the  earth's 
atmosphere.  We  therefore  resolved  to  employ  the  light  of  the  electric 
spark  between  metallic  terminals,  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  any 
limit  of  absorption  could  be  reached.  For  this  purpose,  the  light  of 
the  spark  between  copper  terminals  was  reflected,  by  means  of  a  mirror 
of  the  metal  whose  selective  absorption  we  wished  to  examine,  upon 
the  slit  of  the  spectroscope.  To  protect  the  surface  of  the  mirror  from 
the  effects  of  the  spark,  a  thin  plate  of  quartz  was  placed  in  front  of 
it.  It  was  found  that  the  copper  mirror  showed  no  limit  of  selective 
absorption  by  reflection  for  wave-lengths  of  light  produced  by  burning 
copper  at  the  limits  of  the  copper  spectrum,  that  is,  at  wave-length 
21UU.  The  photographic  plate  taken  by  this  method  showed  all  the 
lines  that  the  plates  showed  which  were  taken  by  the  direct  light  of  the 
spark  unreflected  and  unabsorbed  by  any  medium.  The  palladium 
mirror  was  substituted  for  the  copper  mirror,  and  also  showed  no 
limit  of  selective  absorption  above  wave-length  2100.  We  are  led  to 
conclude,  therefore,  that  the  metallic  surface  of  the  speculum  metal 
upon  which  the  lines  are  ruled  which  form  the  diffraction  grating 
does  not  fix  by  selective  absorption  the  limit  of  metallic  spectra  at 
1800  to  2100.  This  limit  more  likely  resides  in  the  materials  form- 
ing the  sensitive  emulsion  with  which  the  sensitive  plates  are  coated. 
We  have  found  that  a  marked  difference  exists  in  different  emulsions 
in  regard  to  sensitiveness  to  ultra  violet  light.  The  various  staining 
processes,  which  enhance  to  such  a  marked  degree  the  sensitiveness 
of  photographic  plates  to  wave-lengths  of  greater  length,  do  not  seem 
to  affect  the  limit  of  metallic  spectra  in  the  ultra  violet.  Thus,  plates 
stained  with  erythrosine,  which  are  extremely  sensitive  to  yellow 
and  green  light,  continue  to  give  the  same  limit  in  the  ultra  violet 
after  staining  as  they  did  before  they  were  submitted  to  the  staining 
process. 


OP   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES.  301 


XX. 


CONTRIBUTIONS    FROM    THE    JEFFERSON    PHYSICAL 
LABORATORY. 

PHOTOGRAPHY    OF    THE    LEAST    REFRANGIBLE 
PORTION   OF   THE   SOLAR   SPECTRUM. 

By  J.  C.  B.  Burbank. 

Presented  by  Professor  Trowbridge,  March  14,  1888. 

It  has  been  stated  by  eminent  authorities,  that  the  process  of  staining 
dry  plates  with  various  dyes  is  not  applicable  to  the  photography  of 
the  invisible  rays  beyond  the  red  of  the  solar  spectrum.  To  test  this 
question  I  have  undertaken  a  series  of  experiments  with  the  dye 
cyanine.  This  dye  has  of  late  come  into  considerable  prominence 
in  photography,  owing  to  its  orthochromatic  effect  when  mixed  with 
other  dyes,  such  as  chinoline-red,  azaline,  erythrosine,  and  eosine. 

It  was  discovered  by  Greville  Williams,  an  Englishman,  in  1861, 
but  did  not  come  into  much  prominence  until  the  year  1884,  when  its 
usefulness  as  a  sensitizer  became  more  apparent.  The  dye  is  easily 
decomposed  by  light,  and  even  in  the  dark  both  its  solution  and  the 
plates  coated  with  it  are  apt  to  become  decomposed  if  kept  for  any 
length  of  time.  Alone,  it  has  been  found  very  useful  to  sensitize 
plates  for  the  orange  and  red  portions  of  the  spectrum.  No  experi- 
ments have  to  my  knowledge  been  made  upon  the  effect  of  heat  rays 
upon  cyanine  plates. 

The  direct  action  of  absorbents  in  the  infra  red  has  not,  hitherto, 
been  tried  with  any  success ;  moreover,  it  has  been  stated  by  so  emi- 
nent an  authority  as  Captain  W.  De  W.  Abney  that  it  was  impossible 
to  make  plates  sensitive  to  any  rays  below  the  A  of  the  solar  spectrum 
by  means  of  the  addition  of  dyes  to  a  film.  It  is  true,  however,  that 
Major  Waterhouse  has  succeeded  by  means  of  turmeric  in  obtaining 
evidence  of  the  existence  of  a  few  lines  on  the  less  refrangible  side 
of  A,  but  in  all  cases  except  one  these  were  reversed. 

The  plates  employed  were  made  by  the  M.  A.  Seed  Co.  of  sensi- 
tometer  22.    The  method  used  in  staining  the  plates  and  in  the  prepa- 


302  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE   AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

ration  of  the  dye  is  substantially  the  same  as  that  employed  by  J.  B. 
B.  Wellington,*  and  is  as  follows . 

Fifteen  grains  of  cyanine  are  gently  heated  (over  a  steam  bath)  for 
from  thirty  to  forty  minutes  in  combination  with  1  oz.  of  chloral  hy- 
drate and  4  oz.  of  water.  The  whole  mixture  should  now  be  stirred 
vigorously.  While  this  operation  is  going  on,  120  grains  of  sulphate 
of  quinine  are  dissolved  by  heat  in  a  few  ounces  of  methylated  spirit. 
(If  methylated  spirit  cannot  be  obtained,  a  solution  of  90%  alcohol 
and  10%  wood  spirits  will  answer  perfectly  well.)  One  ounce  of 
strong  aqua  ammonia  is  now  slowly  added  to  the  cyanine  mixture 
above.  Violent  ebullition  takes  place  immediately,  chloroform  being 
evolved,  and  cyanine  is  deposited  in  a  soluble  form  on  the  sides  of 
the  vessel.  The  mixture  is  allowed  to  settle  for  a  few  minutes,  and 
then  the  supernatant  liquid  is  decanted  off  very  slowly,  care  being 
taken  not  to  detach  any  of  the  cyanine  that  is  formed  on  the  sides. 

To  the  remaining  cyanine,  three  or  four  ounces  of  methylated  spirit 
are  added  to  dissolve  the  cyanine  ;  the  quinine  solution  is  then  added ; 
and  to  the  whole  more  methylated  spirit,  until  the  whole  mixture 
measures  from  ei^ht  to  nine  ounces.  This  solution  constitutes  the 
"  stock  "  solution,  and  should  be  kept  away  from  all  light,  as  it  is  very 
apt  to  become  decomposed. 

All  of  the  above  operations  should  be  conducted  in  as  little  light  as 
possible.  The  following  staining  and  drying  processes  should  be 
conducted  in  absolute  darkness. 

To  thirty  ounces  of  water  are  added  1J  drachms  of  the  cyanine 
stock  solution ;  the  graduate  that  contained  the  cyanine  is  now 
washed  out,  1^  drachms  of  strong  aqua  ammonia  are  added,  and  the 
whole  mixture  is  stirred  vigorously.  Into  this  bath  two  or  three 
plates,  or  half  a  dozen  strips,  can  be  dipped  at  once.  They  should 
be  left  there  about  four  minutes  ;  meanwhile  the  tray  containing 
the  plates  should  be  rocked  continuously,  so  as  to  insure  a  uniform 
action  of  the  dye. 

This  bath,  after  having  been  used  once,  should  be  thrown  away,  as 
the  action  on  a  second  batch  of  plates  would  be  weak  and  imperfect. 
The  plates  can  now  be  drained,  dried,  and  used.  While  developing, 
I  was  careful  to  exclude  all  light  whatever,  although  I  think  it  pos- 
sible that  the  plates  may  be  developed  safely  in  a  dark  greenish 
yellow  light.  The  developer  used  was  a  pyro.  and  potash  developer 
of  (generally)  normal  strength. 


*  See  Anthony  Photographic  Bulletin,  December  24,  1887. 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  303 

In  the  first  expei-iments  the  spectrum  was  produced  by  a  Rowland 
flat  diffraction  grating,  mounted  on  a  spectrometer  circle.  This  grat- 
ing contained  17,000  lines  to  the  inch.  The  observing  telescope  of 
the  spectroscope  was  replaced  by  a  camera  and  lens. 

Certain  photographs  were  also  taken  by  means  of  a  Rowland  con- 
cave grating  of  14,500  lines  to  the  inch,  and  of  21  ft.  6  in.  radius  of 
curvature.  With  this  grating,  the  amount  of  light  being  less  and  the 
dispersion  greater  than  in  the  former  cases,  the  exposure  had  to  be 
increased. 

In  all  of  the  experiments  ruby-red  glass  screens  were  used  in  order 
to  cut  out  all  of  the  more  refrangible  part  of  the  underlying  spec- 
trum. In  some  cases  a  weak  solution  of  iodine  in  carbon  disulphide 
was  used  with  good  effect. 

No  difficulty  was  found  in  photographing  from  the  A  line  to  wave- 
length 9900,  or  to  the  limit  assigned  by  Abney  as  the  limit  of  the 
diffraction  spectrum.  None  of  the  lines  were  reversed.  A  special 
study  of  the  A  group  was  made,  photographs  being  taken  at  different 
seasons  in  order  to  see  if  any  changes  in  the  remarkable  group  of 
lines  constituting  the  A  group  could  be  noticed.  No  existing  map 
represents  this  group  correctly.  Employing  the  second  spectrum 
produced  by  a  concave  grating,  52  lines  were  observed  between 
wave-lengths  7100  and  8000.  In  the  same  space  Abney  records 
only  24  lines.  Between  the  head  of  A  and  the  tail  of  A,  the 
latter  being  the  single  line  before  the  series  of  doublets  begin 
which  is  so  characteristic  of  the  A  group,  my  photographs  show 
17  lines.  These  photographs  were  taken  in  June  between  ten  and 
one  o'clock. 

These  results  are  of  special  interest  when  we  consider  that  Abney 
has  said  in  a  Bakerian  lecture,  "As  a  result  of  these  experiments  I 
can  confidently  state  that  in  no  case  did  the  addition  of  a  dye  cause 
any  chemical  effect  to  be  produced  by  the  rays  below  A  of  the  solar 
spectrum,  nor  has  Vogel  claimed  that  they  do." 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Abney  is  led  to  believe  that  the  photo- 
graphic action,  which  has  been  noticed  hitherto,  by  the  use  of  dyes  as 
sensitives,  can  be  attributed  to  a  certain  action  of  nitrate  of  silver  on 
organic  matter.  This  effect  is  a  bleaching  one,  and  only  the  more 
fugitive  dyes  can  produce  it.  We  are  led  to  conclude  from  Abney's 
paper,  that  he  believes  that  only  a  chemical  effect  produced  in  a  spe- 
cially prepared  emulsion  can  be  used  to  reproduce  the  infra  red  rays. 
After  many  experiments  he  succeeded  in  producing  such  an  emulsion. 
The  color  of  this  verged  upon  the  blue.     Since  the  color  of  plates 


304  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY 

stained  with  cyanine  by  the  process  I  have  described  is  also  blue,  there 
may  be  some  physical  significance  in  this  resemblance. 

My  experiments  show  that  a  specially  prepared  emulsion  is  not 
necessary  for  the  photography  of  the  infra  red  region.  The  chemical 
theory  advanced  by  Abney,  therefore,  seems  to  need  revision. 


PROCEEDINGS. 


Eight  hundred  and  third  Meeting. 

May  24, 1887.  —  Annual  Meeting. 

The  President  in  the  chair. 

The  Corresponding  Secretary  read  the  following  letters  : 
from  Messrs.  Martin  Brimmer  and  J.  Walter  Fewkes,  accept- 
ing Fellowship  ;  from  Professor  William  R.  Ware,  accepting 
Associate  Fellowship  ;  from  the  Hon.  Frederic  W.  Lincoln, 
resigning  his  Fellowship.  A  letter  was  read  announcing  the 
death,  on  the  2d  instant,  of  Professor  Bernhard  Studer,  of 
Bern,  Foreign  Honorary  Member,  at  the  age  of  ninety-three 
years. 

On  the  motion  of  the  Corresponding  Secretary,  it  was 
Voted,  To  meet,  on  adjournment,  on  the  third  Wednesday 
in  June,  at  eight  o'clock. 

The  Reports  of  the  Treasurer  and  Librarian  were  read  and 
accepted. 

The  following  papers  were  presented  :  — 

"  Acoustic  Submarine  Signals :  for  Use  on  Steam  Vessels 
in  Foggy  Weather."     By  John  M.  Batchelder. 

"  Measurements  of  Telephonic  Currents  produced  by  a 
Blake  Transmitter  with  varying  Pressure."  By  Charles  R. 
Cross. 

VOL.  XXIII.  (n.  S.  XV.)  20 


306  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

Sight  hundred  and  fourth  Meeting. 

June  15, 1887.  —  Adjourned  Annual  Meeting. 

The  President  in  the  chair. 

In  the  absence  of  Professor  Watson,  Professor  Putnam  was 
appointed  Secretary  pro  tempore. 

The  President  made  a  brief  statement  of  the  indebtedness 
of  the  Academy  to  its  late  Fellow,  Daniel  Treadwell,  and 
suggested  that  a  special  appropriation  should  be  made  for 
printing  a  memoir  of  Mr.  Treadwell. 

On  the  motion  of  the  Treasurer,  it  was 

Voted,  That  an  appropriation  of  four  hundred  dollars 
($400)  be  made  for  printing  a  memoir  of  Daniel  Treadwell, 
by  Dr.  Morrill  Wyman. 

On  the  motion  of  the  Treasurer,  it  was 

Voted,  To  appropriate  from  the  income  for  the  ensuing 
year :  — 

For  general  expenses $2,200.00 

For  publications 2,000.00 

For  the  library 1,000.00 

The  President  read  the  following  report. 

The  Rumford  Committee  present  the  following  report  for 
the  year  ending  with  this  Annual  Meeting  :  — 

An  appropriation  of  $500  was  made  to  Professor  H.  P. 
Bowditch  to  enable  him  to  construct  a  calovimetric  apparatus 
for  physiological  investigations. 

An  appropriation  of  $250  was  made  to  Professor  Trow- 
bridge for  investigations  on  radiant  energy. 

An  appropriation  of  $250  was  made  to  Professors  Cross 
and  Holman,  for  new  researches  in  thermometry ;  and  an  ap- 
propriation of  $75  for  experiments  on  the  effect  of  thermo- 
electric and  other  thermal  actions  upon  the  accuracy  of  the 
Munich-shunt  method  of  measuring  very  strong  currents  of 

electricity. 

An  appropriation  of  $250  is  recommended  for  the  use  of 
Mr.  E.  D.  Leavitt,  Jr.,  for  work  on  pyrometry  and   other 


OP   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  307 

methods  of  measuring  high  temperatures,  to  be  done  in  con- 
nection with  Professor  Trowbridge. 

The  Treasurer  has  paid  from  the  income  of  the  Rumford 
Fund  $308.50  for  the  Rumford  Medals,  $500  to  Mr.  W.  H. 
Pickering,  to  aid  him  in  observing  the  total  eclipse  of  the 
sun  in  August,  $250  to  Professor  Trowbridge  for  his  research, 
$149.05  for  books  and  journals  on  light  and  heat,  and  $463.13 
for  printing  in  the  Memoirs  or  Proceedings  papers  relating  to 
these  subjects.  Appropriations  to  the  amount  of  $825  have 
not  yet  been  paid  and  will  come  out  of  the  income  of  the  cur- 
rent year. 

The  Committee  ask  the  Academy  to  act  upon  the  annexed 
vote. 

For  the  committee, 

Joseph  Lovering,   Chairman. 

Voted,  That  an  appropriation  of  $250  be  made  from  the  in- 
come of  the  Rumford  Fund  to  aid  Mr.  E.  D.  Leavitt,  Jr.  in 
his  work  on  pyrometry  and  other  methods  of  measuring  high 
temperatures. 

The  report  was  accepted  and  the  Academy  passed  the  vote 
recommended  by  the  committee. 

Professor  Cooke  presented  the  Annual  Report  of  the 
Council. 

The  President  read  a  letter  from  Dr.  O.  W.  Holmes,  in 
which  he  declined  re-election  to  the  office  of  Vice-President ; 
also,  a  letter  from  Professor  C.  R.  Lanman,  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  American  Oriental  Society,  thanking  the 
Academy  for  the  use  of  its  Hall  for  the  meeting  of  the 
Society. 

Dr.  William  Everett  read  a  notice  of  the  Hon.  Charles 
Francis  Adams,  late  President  of  the  Academy,  which  he  had 
prepared  at  the  request  of  the  Council. 

Dr.  Everett  stated  that  on  the  4th  of  July  a  memorial 
service  would  be  held  in  Quincy  in  honor  of  Mr.  Adams. 

The  Corresponding  Secretary  announced  that  memorial 
notices  had  been  prepared,  by  the  request  of  the  Council,  of 
Mr.  Charles  C.  Perkins,  by  the  Hon.  Martin  Brimmer,  and  of 


308  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

Professor  William  R.  Nichols,  by  Professor  Francis  H.  Storer, 
and  that  they  would  appear  in  the  Proceedings. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  elected  members  of  the 
Academy  :  — 

Winfield  Scott  Chaplin,  of  Cambridge,  to  be  a  Resident 
Fellow  in  Class  I.,  Section   4. 

Eliot  Channing  Clarke,  of  Boston,  to  be  a  Resident  Fellow 
in  Class  I.,  Section  4. 

The  annual  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of  the  following 
officers :  — 

Joseph  Lovering,  President. 
Francis  Paekman,  Vice-President. 
Josiah  P.  Cooke,  Corresponding  Secretary. 
William  Watson,  Recording  Secretary. 
Augustus  Lowell,  Treasurer. 
Henry  W.  Haynes,  Librarian. 

Council. 

WOLCOTT    GlBBS, 

Charles  L.  Jackson,    \  of  Class  I. 


Charles  R.  Cross, 


Sereno  Watson, 

Asa  Gray,  )  of  Class  II. 

Henry  W.  Williams, 

John  C.  Ropes, 

Frederick  W.  Putnam,  \  of  Class  HI. 

Justin  Winsor, 

Rumford   Committee. 

Wolcott  Gibbs,  Josiah  P.  Cooke, 

Edward  C.  Pickering,     Joseph  Lovering, 
John  Trowbridge,  George  B.  Clark, 

Erasmus  D.  Leavitt,  Jr. 

Member  of  the   Committee  of  Finance. 
Thomas  T.  Bouve\ 


OF    ARTS    AND    SCIENCES.  309 

The  President  appointed  the  following  standing  commit- 
tees :  — 

Committee  of  Publication. 

Josiah  P.  Cooke,         Alexander  Agassiz, 

Asa  Gray. 

Committee  on  the  Library. 

Henry  P.  Bowditch,        Amos  E.  Dolbear, 
Edward  J.  Lowell. 

Auditing   Committee. 
Henry  G.  Denny,  Thomas  T.  Botjve. 

The  following  papers  were  presented  :  — 

"  The  Relative  Values  of  the  Atomic  Weights  of  Hydro- 
gen and  Oxygen."  By  Josiah  P.  Cooke  and  Theodore  W. 
Richards. 

"  Summary  of  the  Observations  of  the  Total  Eclipse  of  the 
Sun,  August  29,  1886."     By  William  H.  Pickering. 

The  following  papers  were  presented  by  title  :  — 

"  The  Action  of  Fluoride  of  Silicon  on  Organic  Bases." 
By  Arthur  M.  Comey  and  C.  Loring  Jackson. 

"  On  Tribromtrinitrobenzol."  By  C.  Loring  Jackson  and 
John  P.  Wing. 

"  Catalogue  of  all  Recorded  Meteorites,  with  a  Description 
of  the  Specimens  in  the  Harvard  College  Collection,  including 
the  Cabinet  of  the  late  J.  Lawrence  Smith."  By  Oliver  W. 
Huntington. 


Eight  hundred  and  fifth  Meeting. 

October  12,  1887.  —  Stated  Meeting. 

The  President  in  the  chair. 

The  President  announced  the  death  of  the  following  mem- 
bers : — 
Alvan  Clark,  Mark  Hopkins,  and  Charles  E.  Ware,  Resi- 


310  PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

dent  Fellows  ;  Spencer  F.  Baird,  Associate  Fellow  ;  Hugh  A. 
J.  Munro,  Foreign  Honorary  Member. 

Voted,  To  meet,  on  adjournment,  on  the  second  Wednesday 
in  November. 

Professor  Charles  R.  Cross  presented  the  following  pa- 
pers :  — 

"  On  the  Inverse  Electromotive  Force  of  the  Voltaic  Arc 
containing  Volatilized  Salts." 

"  Further  Studies  of  the  Melting  Platinum  Standard  of 
Light." 


Eight  hundred  and  sixth  Meeting. 

November  9,  1887  —  Adjourned  Stated  Meeting. 

The  President  in  the  chair. 

The  President  announced  the  death  of  Gustav  Kirchhoff, 
of  Berlin,  Foreign  Honorary  Member. 

Professor  Truman  H.  Safford  presented  the  following 
papers :  — 

"  On  the  Approach  of  the  North  Pole  and  the  Polar  Star." 

"  On  the  Right  Ascension  of  Stars  near  the  North  Pole, 
observed  at  Williamstown,  Massachusetts,  (Field  Memorial 
Observatory,)  in  the  Year   1885." 

The  following  paper  was  presented  by  Professor  Trow- 
bridge :  — 

"  A  Preliminary  Investigation  of  the  Velocity  of  Sound 
in  Liquids."     By  Harold  Whiting. 


Eight  hundred  and  seventh  Meeting. 

December  14,  1887.  —  Monthly  Meeting. 

The  President  in  the  chair. 

Professor  Holman  presented  a  paper  entitled,  "  Boiling 
Points  of  Naphthaline,  Benzophenone,  and  Benzol  under  con- 
trolled Pressures,  with  special  Reference  to  Thermometry." 
By  Silas  W.  Holman  and  Walter  H.  Gleason. 


OF   ARTS   AND   SCIENCES.  311 

Eight  hundred  and  eighth  Meeting. 

January  11,  1888.  —  Stated  Meeting. 

The  President  in  the  chair. 

Voted,  To  meet,  on  adjournment,  on  Wednesday,  February 
8,  1888. 

Professor  Cross  presented  the  following  papers  :  — 

"  Experiments  on  the  Blake  Microphone  Contact/'  By 
George  W.  Patterson,  Jr.,  and  H.  J.  Tucker. 

"  On  Possible  Sources  of  Error  in  the  Permanent-shunt 
Method  of  measuring  the  Strength  of  Currents."  By  William 
L.  Puffer. 

Professor  William  L.  Hooper  made  a  communication  on  a 
new  form  of  standard  resistance  coil. 


Eight  hundred  and  ninth  Meeting. 

February  8,  1888.  —  Adjourned  Stated  Meeting. 

A  quorum  was  not  present,  and  the  Academy  was  not 
called  to  order. 


Eight  hundred  and  tenth  Meeting. 

March  14,  1888.  —  Stated  Meeting. 

The  President  in  the  chair. 

The  President  announced  the  death  of  Asa  Gray. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  elected  members  of  the 
Academy :  — 

Abbott  Lawrence  Rotch,  of  Boston,  to  be  a  Resident  Fellow 
in  Class  L,  Section  3. 

Elihu  Thomson,  of  Lynn,  to  be  a  Resident  Fellow  in  Class 
I.,  Section  3. 

George  Fillmore  Swain,  of  Boston,  to  be  a  Resident  Fellow 
in  Class  I.,  Section  4. 


312  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    AMERICAN    ACADEMY 

Crawford  Howell  Toy,  of  Cambridge,  to  be  a  Resident 
Fellow  in  Class  III.,  Section  2. 

On  the  recommendation  of  the  Rumford  Committee,  it 
was 

Voted,  To  appropriate  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  ($250) 
from  the  income  of  the  Rumford  Fund  to  assist  Professor 
Trowbridge  in  his  work  on  metallic  spectra. 

The  following  papers  were  presented  :  — 

"  Historical  Study  at  Babylon  in  the  Sixth  Century  B.  C." 
By  David  G.  Lyon. 

"  An  Instrument  for  determining  the  Direction  and  Ve- 
locity of  Water  Currents  below  the  Surface."  By  Edward 
S.  Ritchie. 

The  following  papers  were  presented  by  title  :  — 

"  On  Sulphopyromucic  Acids."  By  Henry  B.  Hill  and 
Arthur  W.  Palmer. 

"  Notes  upon  some  Polypetalous  Genera  and  Orders."  By 
Asa  Gray. 

"  Contributions  to  American  Botany :  —  I.  Some  New  Spe- 
cies of  Plants  of  the  United  States.  II.  Some  New  Species 
of  Mexican  Plants,  chiefly  of  Mr.  C.  G.  Pringle's  Collection 
in  the  Mountains  of  Chihuahua,  in  1887.  III.  Description 
of  some  Plants  of  Guatemala."     By  Sereno  Watson. 

Mr.  Sereno  Watson  exhibited  and  described  a  specimen  of 
wild  corn  found  in  the  mountains  south  of  Guanaxuato  in 
Mexico. 


Eight  hundred  and  eleventh  Meeting. 

April  11, 1888.  —  Monthly  Meeting. 

The  President  in  the  chair. 

The  following  papers  were  presented  :  — 

"  The  Proper  Shape  for  Armature  Cores  in  Dynamo-elec- 
tric Machines."     By  William   L.  Hooper. 

"  Results  of  the  Comparison  of  a  Number  of  British  Asso- 
ciation Standards  of  the  Units  of  Electrical  Resistance."  By 
William  L.  Hooper. 


OF    ARTS    AND    SCIENCES.  313 

Eight  hundred  and  twelfth  Meeting. 

May  9,  1888  —  Monthly  Meeting. 

The  President  in  the  chair. 

In  the  absence  of  the  Recording  Secretary*,  Mr.  Haynes 
was  appointed  Secretary  pro  tempore. 

The  Corresponding  Secretary  read  letters  from  Messrs. 
Rotch  and  Thomson,  accepting  Fellowship  in  the  Academy  ; 
from  the  General  Secretaries  of  the  International  Geological 
Congress,  inviting  the  attendance  of  members  of  the  Academy 
at  the  approaching  meeting  in  London,  in  September;  from 
the  President  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  in  regard 
to  a  proposed  international  congress  to  consider  the  subject 
of  a  universal  language  ;  from  the  Audubon  Monument  Com- 
mittee of  the  New  York  Academy  of  Sciences,  soliciting  sub- 
scriptions ;  from  a  committee  in  the  Netherlands  inviting 
subscriptions  to  the  "  Donders  memorial  fund." 

The  First  Part  of  Volume  XXIII.  of  the  Proceedings  was 
laid  on  the  table. 

The  following  papers  were  presented:  — 

"  A  Note  on  the  Atomic  Weight  of  Oxygen."  By  Josiah 
P.   Cooke. 

"  On  the  Present  Condition  of  the  Subject  of  Color  ;  to- 
gether with  an  Account  of  Investigations  at  the  Jefferson 
Physical  Laboratory  on  the  Invisible  Rays  of  Light."  By 
John  Trowbridge. 

"  Result  of  Studies  of  the  Strength  of  Electric  Currents 
used  in  Telegraphy  and  in  Microphones."  By  Charles  R. 
Cross. 


REPORT   OF   THE   COUNCIL; 


MAY  23,  1888. 

Since  the  last  Annual  Meeting,  on  May  24,  1887,  the 
Academy  has  received  notice  of  the  death  of  fifteen  of  its 
members ;  —  viz.  seven  Resident  Fellows,  Alvan  Clark, 
Charles  S.  Bradley,  John  Dean,  Asa  Gray,  Laurens  P. 
Hickock,  Mark  Hopkins,  Charles  E.  Ware;  three  Associate 
Fellows,  S.  F.  Baird,  S.  G.  Brown,  and  E.  B.  Elliott;  and 
five  Foreign  Honorary  Members,  Matthew  Arnold,  Henry 
Sumner  Maine,  H.  A.  J.  Munro,  Gustav  Kirchhoff,  and 
Balfour  Stewart. 

RESIDENT    FELLOWS. 

ALVAN    CLARK. 

Alvan  Clark  was  born  in  Ashfield,  Massachusetts,  on  March  8, 
1804.  The  unusual  capacity  for  delicate  manipulation  which  subse- 
quently established  his  reputation  as  an  optician  first  displayed  itself  in 
a  taste  for  painting.  His  youth  was  passed  in  labor  on  the  farm  of  his 
father,  but  before  he  was  twenty-two  he  had  acquired  much  skill  in  his 
favorite  art.  Circumstances  required  him  to  make  a  practical  use  of 
this  skill,  for  the  New  England  of  1826  could  offer  little  encourage- 
ment to  aesthetic  pursuits,  and  Mr.  Clark  exchanged  farming  for  en- 
graving the  rolls  used  for  printing  calico  in  a  manufactory  at  Lowell. 
But  in  1835  he  ventured  to  establish  himself  in  Boston  as  a  portrait 
painter,  and  pursued  that  business  for  the  next  twenty  years,  his  resi- 
dence being  in  Cambridge.     He  had  married  while  living  at  Lowell, 

*  A  notice  of  Elliott  could  not  be  prepared  for  this  volume  ;  but  notices  of 
Curtius,  Eichler,  and  Studer,  necessarily  omitted  last  year,  are  now  given. 


316  ALVAN    CLARK. 

and  his  eldest  sou,  by  undertaking  the  construction  of  a  small  reflecting 
telescope  as  a  juvenile  experiment,  first  directed  his  attention  to  optical 
work.     The  occupation,  once  begun,  proved  too  interesting  to  be  laid 
aside,  but  some  time  necessarily  passed  before  astronomers  began  to 
discover  the  surprising  excellence  of  the  instruments  which  were  pro- 
duced by  a  maker  who  had  received  no   professional  training  as  an 
optician,  and  had  reached  middle  life  without  intending  to  become  one. 
Mr.  Clark  began  the  manufacture  of  telescopes  at  Cambridge  in  1846, 
with  the  aid  of  his  two  sons,  and  proved  the  superiority  of  his  work  by 
astronomical   observation,  during  which  he  discovered    several  double 
stars,  requiring,  on  account  of  the  close  proximity  of  their  components, 
an  instrument  of  unusual  defining  power  for  the  recognition  of  their 
character.     His  correspondence  upon  this  subject  with  the  distinguished 
English  observer  of  double  stars,  the  Rev.  W.  R.  Dawes,  led  to  the 
purchase  by  Mr.  Dawes  of  some  of  his  telescopes,  and  to  the  growth  of 
his  reputation  among  other   astronomers.     His  portrait    painting  was 
laid  aside,  to  be  resumed  only  as  the  recreation  of  his  old  age,  when  it 
appeared  that  his  eye  and  hand  still  preserved  the  accuracy  which  had 
distinguished  his  youth.     As  an  additional  illustration  of  this  accuracy, 
it  may  here  be  mentioned  that,  during  the  prime  of  life,  Mr.  Clark  took 
much  interest  in  practice  with  the  rifle,  and  greatly  distinguished  him- 
self as  a  marksman.     To  render  assistance  in  loading  the  rifle  with  ac- 
curacy, he  invented  a  false  muzzle,  which  is  still  employed  among  those 
who  have  not  adopted  the  breech-loading  guns  which  are  now  in  com- 
mon use. 

By  degrees  it  appeared  that  the  firm  of  Alvan  Clark  and  Sons  was 
indisputably  at  the  head  of  the  telescope  makers  of  the  world,  notwith- 
standing an  entire  neglect  of  all  the  arts  of  business  competition.  It 
became  necessary  for  aspirants  to  the  possession  of  a  telescope  superior 
to  any  which  had  been  previously  made,  to  resort  to  the  works  at  Cam- 
bridge. In  18G0,  the  University  of  Mississippi  ordered  a  telescope 
eighteen  inches  in  aperture.  The  outbreak  of  civil  war  the  next  year 
changed  the  destination  of  this  instrument  to  Chicago  ;  but,  before  it 
left  Cambridge,  the  companion  of  Sirius,  a  body  previously  known  only 
in  theory,  was  discovered  with  its  aid.  In  1877,  with  the  twenty-six- 
inch  refractor  of  the  United  States  Naval  Observatory,  also  the  work 
of  Alvan  Clark  and  Sons,  and  the  largest  instrument  of  its  class  then 
mounted,  the  two  satellites  of  Mars  were  discovered.  The  great  Rus- 
sian Observatory  of  Pulkowa  next  demanded  a  still  larger  instrument, 
and  finally  the  Lick  Observatory  of  California  called  for  one  even 
greater.     This  was  the  last  important  work  of  the  firm  which  he  had 


JOHN   DEAN.  317 

founded  that  Mr.  Clark  lived  to  witness.  He  died  after  a  short  illness, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-three.  Few  men  can  have  such  good  reason  to 
enjoy  either  the  active  or  the  retrospective  portions  of  their  lives  as  had 
Alvan  Clark,  and  few  have  seemed  really  to  enjoy  their  opportunities 
of  promoting  science  more  than  he  did.  His  genial  and  kindly  tem- 
perament will  long  preserve  his  memory  among  those  who  saw  him  in 
his  later  years,  surrounded  by  the  implements  of  the  work  which  he 
loved  to  the  last. 

CHARLES  SMITH  BRADLEY. 

Charles  Smith  Bradley,  formerly  Chief  Justice  of  Rhode  Island, 
became  a  Fellow  of  the  Academy  on  October  10,  1877.  He  was  the 
son  of  Charles  and  Sarah  (Smith)  Bradley,  and  was  born  at  Newbury- 
port,  Mass.,  July  19,  1819.  His  father  was  a  merchant  of  Boston, 
and  afterwards  a  manufacturer,  residing  at  Portland,  Maine  ;  on  his 
mother's  side  he  was  descended  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hezekiah  Smith,  for 
many  years  a  Baptist  preacher  and  a  Fellow  of  Brown  University ; 
and  so,  after  preparing  for  college  at  the  Boston  Latin  School,  he 
completed  his  education  at  Brown  University,  and  graduated  there  in 
1838  at  the  head  of  a  distinguished  class.  Of  his  own  distinction  in 
college  a  pleasant  picture  is  given  by  a  contemporary,  in  Mr.  Charles 
T.  Congdon's  "  Reminiscences  of  a  Journalist,"  Boston,  J.  R.  Osgood 
&  Co.,  1880)  :  "In  the  class  of  1838  was  Mr.  Justice  Bradley  of 
Rhode  Island,  the  first  scholar,  I  think,  of  his  year,  of  whom  we  did 
predict  great  things.  There  is  something  pleasant  in  the  loyal  way  in 
which  lads  in  college  recognize  an  associate  of  superior  ability  and 
special  promise.  ...  So  we  all  talked  of  Bradley.  When  he  was  to 
speak  in  the  chapel  after  evening  prayers,  how  irreverently  eager  we 
were  for  the  devotions  to  be  over  that  we  might  listen  to  our  favorite  ! 
There  were  other  clever  fellows,  of  course,  but  none  so  clever  as  he. 
He  handled  all  topics,  philosophical,  political,  and  literary,  with  such 
force  and  ease  that  we  held  the  matter  hardly  second  to  the  manner, 
though  the  manner  was  as  nearly  perfect  as  any  elocution  could  be  ; 
yet  there  were  doubters  who  thought  that  George  Van  Ness  Lothrop, 
now  an  eminent  lawyer  of  Michigan,  was,  if  possible,  the  greater  man. 
Of  the  comparative  merits  of  these  two,  the  discussions  ran  high,  but 
there  was  no  discussion  of  the  rival  claims  of  anybody  else."  Mr. 
Lothrop  was  the  first  Minister  to  Russia  under  President  Cleveland, 
and  one  of  Judge  Bradley's  sons  now  bears  his  name. 

He  studied  law  at  the  Harvard  Law  School,  and  at  Providence  in 


318  CHARLES  SMITH  BRADLEY. 

the  office  of  Charles  F.  Tillinghast,  whose  partner  he  became  on  being 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  Rhode  Island,  in  1841.  He  was  soon  eminent 
in  his  profession,  and  for  many  years  was  one  of  its  acknowledged 
leaders.  In  politics  he  was  always  a  Democrat.  It  was  therefore  a 
very  striking  mark  of  appreciation  which  was  shown  when  he  was 
elected  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  by  the  Republican  legisla- 
ture of  Rhode  Island,  in  February,  1866.  He  filled  this  office  with  dis- 
tinction for  two  years,  resigning  it  then  on  account  of  the  pressure  of 
his  private  affairs.  Soon  after  this,  he  was  for  several  years  one  of  the 
lecturers  at  the  Harvard  Law  School,  and  in  1876  he  succeeded  the 
Hon.  Emory  Washburn  as  the  Bussey  Professor  at  that  institution,  and 
held  the  office  for  three  years.  He  was  called  to  many  other  places  of 
honor  and  service.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  a  Fellow  of  Brown  University.  He  repeatedly  led  the 
forlorn  hope  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Rhode  Island  as  a  candidate 
for  the  national  House  of  Representatives  and  Senate,  and  as  a  member 
of  the  National  Convention  of  that  party. 

He  was  a  man  of  learning  and  of  wide  accomplishments,  and  of 
spotless  integrity  and  honor.  As  a  lawyer,  he  had  an  extraordinary 
quickness  of  apprehension,  subtlety,  fertility  of  resource,  great  native 
breadth  of  good  sense,  and  a  vigorous  understanding.  He  was  a  lover 
and  student  of  literature,  and  especially  of  art ;  and  there  was  in  him 
what  one  of  his  friends  has  happily  called  "  a  certain  elegance  about 
his  intellectual  structure  and  movement,  a  mixture  of  grace  and  senti- 
ment and  imagination  witli  his  logical  and  practical  power,  which 
lifted  him  above  the  dry  professional  road  he  travelled  by  choice,  and 
with  so  much  success."  From  the  beginning  he  had  always  a  great 
charm  of  manners  and  character.  In  earlier  life  he  was  very  slender, 
and  his  aspect  was  that  of  a  refined  and  thoughtful  scholar.  Later  on, 
his  tall  figure  grew  fuller,  but  never  unwieldy ;  and  his  handsome  face, 
and  his  head  silvered  with  age,  became  noble,  and  expressive  of  strength, 
dignity,  and  repose. 

He  was  accomplished  as  a  public  speaker,  —  indeed,  he  came  near 
being  a  very  finished  and  remarkable  orator.  Public  speaking  was 
easy  to  him.  In  preparing  for  it  he  wrote  little,  speaking  mainly  with- 
out notes  or  from  slight  memoranda.  His  oration  before  the  Phi  Beta 
Kappa  Society  at  Cambridge,  in  1879,  was  never  written  out ;  he  trusted 
largely  to  the  inspiration  of  the  moment,  as  was  his  wont.  Several  of 
his  addresses,  however,  were  reported,  and  have  appeared  in  print.  The 
last  of  them,  on  "  The  Profession  of  the  Law  as  an  Element  of  Civil 
Society,"  was  delivered  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  in  1881. 


JOHN   DEAN.  319 

He  was  a  good  citizen  and  gave  much  time  and  reflection  to  public 
questions ;  and  his  course  was  always  a  thoughtful  and  independent 
one.  Although  supporting  the  "Law  and  Order"  side  at  the  time  of 
the  Dorr  rebellion  in  Rhode  Island,  he  was  persuaded  of  the  injustice 
and  bad  policy  of  many  of  the  steps  that  were  taken  by  the  victorious 
party,  and  courageously  opposed  them  by  tongue  and  pen.  To  the 
last,  he  struggled  earnestly  to  remove  from  the  Constitution  of  Rhode 
Island  certain  features  which  seemed  to  him  inexpedient  and  unjust ; 
and  it  was  in  the  course  of  this  controversy  that  he  was  led  to  a  care- 
ful study  of  the  methods  of  making  and  changing  the  constitutions  of 
our  States,  which  resulted  in  a  series  of  newspaper  articles  printed  at 
Providence,  and  afterwards  embodied  in  a  leai'ned  and  very  valuable, 
although  somewhat  ill-constructed  pamphlet.  The  main  conclusions 
arrived  at  by  Chief  Justice  Bradley  were  not  welcomed  by  the  judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Rhode  Island,  whose  opinion  he  controverted,  or 
by  the  prevailing  political  party  there,  and  he  was  answered  by  Chief 
Justice  Durfee  of  that  State ;  but  those  conclusions  are  well  worthy  of 
attention.  They  have  the  support  of  many  eminent  persons,  and  among 
others  of  Jameson,  the  author  of  the  principal  treatise  on  the  subject 
of  "  Constitutional  Conventions." 

Chief  Justice  Bradley  died  at  the  Buckingham  Hotel,  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  April  29,  1888.  Although  successful  in  business  and  for- 
tunate and  happy  in  many  of  the  aspects  of  his  life,  he  had  much  more 
than  the  usual  share  of  domestic  sorrow  that  falls  to  man's  lot.  He 
was  thrice  married,  and  each  time  happily  ;  yet  he  survived  for  thirteen 
years  the  last  of  his  wives.  The  loss  of  all  his  daughters  in  their 
infancy  was  a  sad  blow  to  a  man  of  a  nature  singularly  affectionate  and 
sensitive.  Two  sons,  also,  the  oldest  and  the  youngest,  who  had  grown 
to  be  men,  died  before  him.  Two  sons  survive  him,  Charles  Bradley 
of  Providence,  and  George  Lothrop  Bradley  of  Washington.  He  left 
a  handsome  property,  but  made  no  will.  During  all  the  later  part  of  his 
life  he  was  an  attendant  at  the  Episcopal  Church.  A  portrait  of  him 
by  Herkomer  taken  a  few  years  before  his  death  is  in  the  possession  of 

his  son  George. 

» 

JOHN  DEAN. 

John  Dean,  the  son  of  William  and  Lydia  Dean,  was  born  at  Salem, 
Mass.,  December  21,  1831.  He  was  educated  in  private  schools,  and 
did  not  go  to  college,  but  went  abroad  for  a  year  or  two  in  1850.  He 
studied  chemistry  with  Professor  Horsford,  in  the  Harvard  Scientific 


320  JOHN    DEAN. 

School,  in  1852-53,  and  soon  afterward  went  to  Germany  to  pursue  his 
studies  in  that  science.  He  took  the  degree  of  Ph.  D.  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Gottingen.  He  entered  the  Harvard  Medical  School  in  1856, 
and  graduated  in  1860.  There  is  still  in  the  Museum  a  beautiful  dis- 
section of  nerves  bearing  his  name  and  that  of  Charles  F.  Crehore. 
During  his  medical  course  he  must  have  found  time  for  original 
research;  for  his  first  important  work,  on  the"  Lumbar  Enlargement  of 
the  Spinal  Cord,"  was  presented  before  the  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sci- 
ences, by  Prof.  Jeffries  Wyman,  on  November  14,  1860.  A  still  larger 
work,  illustrated  by  photographs  of  his  sections  as  well  as  by  plates,  was 
that  on  the  "  Gray  Substance  of  the  Medulla  Oblongata  and  Trape- 
zium," published  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  1864.  His  reputa- 
tion was  thus  made,  and  in  a  field  which  in  America,  at  least,  was 
absolutely  new.  Unfortunately  his  health  now  failed  him.  He  suffered 
from  nervous  exhaustion,  and  from  chronic  bronchitis  and  asthma,  from 
which  after  that  time  he  was  rarely  free,  and  which  repeatedly  brought 
him  into  a  critical  condition.  For  many  years  he  was  a  complete 
invalid. 

He  married,  in  1859,  Miss  Eliza  Philbrick  Southwick,  whose  care  of 
him  was  tender  and  constant  till  his  death.  He  went  abroad  for  several 
years,  and  made  several  fruitless  attempts  to  resume  his  work.  At 
last,  feeling  that  his  case  was  hopeless,  some  twelve  years  ago,  being  at 
that  time  in  America,  he  gave  his  entire  scientific  library,  which  con- 
tained files  of  valuable  scientific  periodicals  and  many  rare  and  costly 
works  on  the  nervous  system,  his  instruments,  and  a  choice  collection 
of  microscopic  specimens  to  the  Physiological  Department  of  the  Har- 
vard Medical  School.  He  went  abroad  for  the  last  time  in  the  spring 
or  summer  of  188*2,  and  from  that  time  made  his  home  in  Florence, 
where  he  died  on  January  13,  1888. 

It  was  a  severe  blow  to  him  to  give  up  his  scientific  labors  ;  but  he 
bore  it  with  characteristic  patience,  and  took  pleasure  in  thinking  that 
he  had  so  disposed  of  his  books  and  preparations  that  they  would  be  of 
use  to  others.  Dr.  Dean  was  of  a  most  amiable  character,  —  affection- 
ate, modest,  and  submissive.  Many  years  ago,  both  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Dean 
became  converts  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  of  which  he  died  a 
zealous  and  devout  member.  * 

*  Abbreviated  from  a  notice  in  the  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal. 


ASA    GRAY.  321 


ASA   GKAY. 


Asa.  Gray  was  born  on  November  18,  1810,  in  Sauquoit  Valley 
in  the  township  of  Paris,  Oneida  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  died  on  January  30, 
1888,  at  Cambridge,  Mass.  On  the  paternal  side  he  was  descended 
from  a  Scotch-Irish  family  who  emigrated  to  this  country  in  the  early 
part  of  the  last  century.  His  grandfather,  Moses  Wiley  Gray,  was  born 
at  Worcester,  Mass.,  December  31,  1745,  and  was  married  in  17 09  to 
Sallie  Miller.  He  went  in  1787  to  Vermont,  where  his  wife  soon 
afterwards  died ;  and  when  their  son  Moses,  the  father  of  Asa  Gray, 
was  eight  years  old,  the  father  and  son  moved  still  farther  west,  to 
Sauquoit  Valley,  then  almost  a  frontier  settlement.  Sixteen  years 
later,  Moses  Gray  was  married  to  Roxana  Howard,,  a  daughter  of 
Joseph  Howard,  of  English  descent,  who,  leaving  his  home  in  Massa- 
chusetts, had  settled  in  Sauquoit  Valley  the  same  year  as  the  Gray 
family.  Of  their  family  of  eight  children,  five  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters, Asa  was  the  first-born. 

When  a  boy  he  assisted  his  father  in  the  smaller  duties  connected  with 
his  farm  and  tannery ;  but  at  an  early  age  he  showed  a  much  greater 
fondness  for  reading  than  for  farm-work,  and  the  father  soon  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  his  son  would  make  a  better  scholar  than  farmer. 
Until  he  was  about  twelve  years  old,  the  only  education  he  received  was 
what  could  be  obtained  for  a  part  of  the  year  in  the  small  district  school, 
and  in  the  small  private  school  at  Sauquoit  taught  by  the  son  of  the 
parish  pastor.  He  was  then  sent  to  the  grammar  school  at  Clinton, 
N.  Y.,  where  he  remained  for  two  years ;  and  when,  in  the  autumn  of 
1825,  his  teacher,  Mr.  Charles  Avery,  accepted  a  place  in  Fairfield 
Academy,  young  Gray  followed  his  iustructor  to  that  place,  where  for 
four  years  he  pursued  elementary  mathematical  and  classical  studies. 
Connected  with  the  Fairfield  Academy  was  a  Medical  School  which 
enjoyed  a  high  reputation,  and  was  attended  by  two  hundred  students,  a 
large  number  for  that  time.  Dr.  James  Hadley,  the  Professor  of  Mate- 
ria Medica  and  Chemistry  in  the  Medical  School,  also  gave  some  instruc- 
tion in  the  Academy,  and  it  was  probably  through  his  influence  that 
Gray's  attention  was  first  strongly  drawn  towards  natural  science.  Ap- 
parently, he  was  not  at  first  so  much  interested  in  plants  as  in  miner- 
als ;  and  it  was  not  until  towards  the  close  of  his  course  in  the  Academy 
that  his  passion  for  plants  was  aroused  by  reading  the  article  on  Botany 
in  the  Edinburgh  Encyclopaedia,  and  his  delight  the  following  spring 
at  being  able  to  make  out  with  the  aid  of  Eaton's  Manual  the  scientific 
name  of  the  common  Claytonia  is  now  a  well  known  story. 
vol.  xxxiii.  (n.  s.  xv.)  21 


322  ASA    GRAY. 

Following  his  father's  wish,  which  probably  was  in  accord  with  his 
own  inclination,  he  decided  to  study  medicine,  and  formally  entered  the 
Fairfield  Medical  School  in  1829,  although  for  two  years  previously, 
while  a  student  in  the  Academy,  he  had  attended  some  of  the  medical 
lectures.  The  sessions  of  the  Medical  School,  like  those  of  the  Acad- 
emy, hardly  occupied  more  than  six  months  of  the  year,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  the  time  was  spent  in  study  with  different  physicians  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Sauquoit,  one  of  whom,  Dr.  John  F.  Trowbridge  of 
Bridgewater,  was  a  man  of  good  scientific  attainments.  He  was  thus  in 
an  excellent  position  for  collecting,  and  even  before  he  graduated  he 
had  brought  together  a  considerable  herbarium,  and  had  entered  into 
correspondence  with  Dr.  Lewis  C.  Beck  of  Albany,  and  Dr.  John  Tor- 
rey  of  New  York,  who  aided  him  in  the  determination  of  his  plants. 
He  received  his  Doctor's  degree  at  Fairfield  on  February  1,  1831.  He 
never,  however,  entered  upon  the  practice  of  medicine ;  but  after  re- 
ceiving his  degree  he  became  instructor  in  chemistry,  mineralogy,  and 
botany  in  Bartlett's  High  School  at  Utica,  N.  Y.,  and  taught  those  sub- 
jects, for  a  part  of  the  year,  from  the  autumn  of  1831  to  1835. 

The  first  actual  record  of  any  public  lectures  on  botany  given  by  him 
is  found  in  a  circular  of  the  Fairfield  Medical  School,  dated  January, 
1832,  in  which  the  following  statement  is  made:  "Asa  Gray,  M.D., 
will  give  a  course  of  lectures  and  practical  illustrations  on  botany,  to 
commence  [in  June]  and  continue  the  same  time  with  the  lectures  on 
chemistry  [six  weeks].  Fee,  $4.00."  This  course  was  attended 
apparently  by  ten  persons ;  for  he  states  that  he  spent  the  $40  earned 
from  these  lectures  in  making  a  botauical  excursion  to  Niagara  Falls. 
It  appears  to  be  the  case,  however,  that  in  the  previous  year,  just  after 
graduation,  he  had  given  a  few  lectures  on  botany  in  the  Medical 
School,  in  the  absence  of  the  regular  instructor,  Dr.  Beck ;  and  a  little 
later,  he  gave  another  course  of  lectures  on  mineralogy  and  botany  at 
Hamilton  College,  Clinton.  DuriDg  other  intermissions  of  his  work  at 
Bartlett's  School,  he  made  mineralogical  and  botanical  excursions  to 
different  parts  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey ;  and  it  was  while  liv- 
ing at  Utica  that  he  published  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science  of 
October,  1833,  his  first  scientific  paper  on  new  mineral  localities  in 
Northern  New  York,  written  in  connection  with  Dr.  J.  B.  Crawe. 

In  the  autumn  of  1833,  having  leave  of  absence  from  Bartlett's 
School,  he  accepted  the  position  of  assistant  to  Professor  John  Torrey, 
in  the  chemical  laboratory  of  the  Medical  School  of  New  York.  His 
time  was  here  mainly  occupied  in  botanical  studies  ;  and,  besides  aiding 
Dr.  Torrey  in  his  botanical  work,  he  prepared  and  published  several 


ASA    GRAY.  323 

original  papers  of  his  own,  of  which  his  memoir  on  Rhynchospora  may 
be  said  to  be  his  first  contribution  to  descriptive  botany.  His  connec- 
tion with  Bartlett's  School  ended  early  in  1835,  and,  although  the  finan- 
cial condition  of  the  New  York  Medical  School  did  not  permit  his 
continuing  as  assistant  of  Dr.  Torrey,  he  returned  to  New  York  in  the 
autumn  of  1835,  and  accepted  the  position  of  curator  and  librarian  of 
the  Lyceum  of  Natural  History,  —  a  position  which  gave  him  leisure 
for  continuing  his  botanical  studies,  and  to  prepare  his  first  test-book, 
"  Elements  of  Botany,"  which  appeared  in  1836. 

About  this  time  a  Government  expedition,  since  known  as  the 
Wilkes  Exploring  Expedition,  was  fitting  out,  and  the  position  of  bota- 
nist of  the  expedition  was  offered  to  Dr.  Gray  in  the  summer  of  1836. 
The  expedition  did  not  sail,  however,  until  two  years  later ;  and 
meanwhile,  wearied  by  the  numerous  delays  and  uncertainties  about 
the  management  of  the  expedition,  Dr.  Gray  resigned  his  position  and 
settled  in  New  York,  where,  in  company  with  Dr.  Torrey,  he  worked 
energetically  on  the  preparation  of  the  earlier  parts  of  the  "  Flora," 
of  which  the  first  two  parts  appeared  in  October,  1838.  While  occupied 
in  this  work,  a  new  State  University  had  been  founded  in  Michigan, 
and  Dr.  Gray  accepted  the  chair  of  botany  which  was  offered  to  him, 
with  the  understanding  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  spend  a  year 
abroad  in  study  before  beginning  his  official  duties. 

The  elaboration  of  the  new  "Flora"  made  it  necessary  for  him  to 
examine  the  types  of  American  plants  in  foreign  herbaria ;  and  in 
November,  1838,  he  started  on  the  journey  which  was  not  only  to  give 
him  the  means  of  clearing  up  much  of  the  existing  confusion  with  re- 
gard to  the  identity  of  previously  described  North  American  species, 
but,  what  was  more  important,  was  to  bring  him  into  close  scientific  and 
social  relations  with  the  botanical  lights  of  a  generation  now  long  past, 
and  with  those  who  were  then  the  young  men  of  promise,  a  brilliant 
group,  of  which  Sir  J.  D.  Hooker  and  A.  De  Candolle  are  now  almost 
the  only  survivors. 

He  returned  to  America  in  November,  1839,  but  never  assumed  the 
duties  of  Professor  at  Michigan.  He  was  absorbed  in  his  work  on  the 
"  Flora,"  and,  refreshed  and  stimulated  by  what  he  had  seen  and  heard 
abroad,  he  was  pushing  rapidly  ahead  with  the  second  volume,  of  which 
he  wrote  the  greater  portion,  and  at  the  same  time  printing  a  "  Bo- 
tanical Text-Book,"  which  was  to  form  the  basis  of  his  many  subse- 
quent text-books,  when  he  was  invited  to  Cambridge  to  fill  the  newly 
endowed  chair  of  the  Fisher  Professorship  of  Natural  History  in  Har- 
vard College. 


321  ASA    GRAY. 

He  accepted,  and  in  1 842  took  up  his  residence  in  Cambridge.  The 
second  volume  of  the  "Flora"  was  completed  the  following  year.  He 
was  at  once  favorably  received  in  learned  and  social  circles  of  Cam- 
bridge and  Boston  ;  and  when  delivering  a  course  of  lectures  at  the 
Lowell  Institute,  he  first  became  acquainted  with  Miss  Jane  Lathrop 
Loring,  daughter  of  Mr.  Charles  Greely  Loring  of  Boston,  to  whom  he 
was  married  on  May  4,  1848.  From  this  time  his  energies  were  devoted 
to  building  up  a  botanical  establishment  at  Cambridge,  —  for  what  was 
in  existence  before  1842  hardly  deserves  mention,  —  and  to  the  com- 
pletion of  a  "  Flora  of  North  America."  The  number  of  collectors  and 
explorers  had  by  this  time  greatly  increased ;  and  the  material  they  had 
brought  together  contained  so  much  that  was  new,  that  it  was  plain  that 
the  original  plan  of  the  "  Flora"  must  be  changed,  for  the  two  volumes 
already  published  had  hardly  appeared  when  a  revision  seemed  neces- 
sary. It  was  not  until  many  years  later,  in  1878,  that  the  first  part  of 
the  new  "  Flora"  appeared;  and  he  continued  to  labor  toward  the  com- 
pletion of  his  great  work  until  death  forced  him  to  relinquish  the 
unfinished  task. 

He  continued  in  the  exercise  of  the  active  duties  of  lecturer  and 
instructor  until  1872,  when  he  was  relieved  of  this  charge  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  colleague,  Prof.  G.  L.  Goodale ;  but  he  gave  occasional 
lectures  in  the  College  for  a  few  years  longer.  In  1873  he  resigned  his 
office  of  Director  of  the  Botanic  Garden,  and  Prof.  C.  S.  Sargent  was 
appointed  his  successor.  He  retained  the  title  of  Fisher  Professor  and 
Director  of  the  Herbarium  until  his  death,  although  he  was  in  part  re- 
lieved of  the  responsibilities  of  the  latter  position  by  the  appointment  of 
Mr.  Sereno  Watson  as  Curator  of  the  Herbarium  in  1874. 

His  long  residence  and  arduous  labors  at  Cambridge  were  varied  and 
relieved  by  several  journeys,  some  of  which  were  of  considerable  extent, 
and  all  of  which  were  made  to  contribute  to  the  advancement  of  work 
on  the  "Flora,"  either  by  enabling  him  to  examine  in  the  field  the  plants 
which  he  was  studying,  or  by  examination  of  foreign  herbaria,  and  con- 
sultations with  leading  foreign  botanists.  He  made  three  trips  to  Cali- 
fornia, in  1872,  in  1877,  when  he  was  in  company  with  Sir  J.  D. 
Hooker,  and  in  1885,  when  he  visited  not  only  Southern  California  and 
the  great  Colorado  Canon,  but  journeyed  into  Mexico  as  far  as  Orizaba 
and  Cordoba.  He  was  once  in  Florida,  in  1875,  and  made,  besides, 
several  trips  to  the  mountains  of  North  Carolina,  where  he  botanized  at 
different  times  with  his  botanical  friends,  Sullivant,  Carey,  Engelmann, 
Canby,  and  Redfield. 

He    made    in    all    six  journeys    to    Europe,   including   the  journey 


ASA    GRAY.  325 

already  mentioned  and  a  short  business  trip  of  six  weeks  to  Paris  in 
the  summer  of  1855.  On  the  other  journeys  he  was  accompanied  by 
Mrs.  Gray.  When  abroad,  he  always  spent  much  of  his  time  with  the 
English,  botanists,  among  whom  he  counted  many  warm  personal 
friends ;  and  he  looked  forward  with  special  pleasure  to  his  visits  at 
Kew,  where  he  was  welcomed  by  the  Director,  Sir  W.  J.  Hooker,  and 
by  his  son  and  successor,  Sir  J.  D.  Hooker,  for  forty  years  his  intimate 
friend,  whose  opinion  in  botanical  matters  he  esteemed  more  highly 
than  that  of  any  of  his  contemporaries.  In  his  second  journey,  from 
June,  1850,  to  August,  1851,  he  travelled  through  France,  Germany, 
and  Holland,  and  spent  two  months  with  Bentham  at  his  home  in 
Herefordshire,  studying  the  plants  of  the  Wilkes  Expedition,  upon 
which  he  was  then  working.  The  fourth  journey,  from  September, 
1868,  to  November,  1869,  was  undertaken  at  a  time  when  he  was 
much  overworked,  and  he  spent  the  winter  in  Egypt,  that  country 
being  almost  the  only  spot  where  there  was  nothing  to  tempt  him  to 
botanize,  besides  visiting  Italy,  France,  Germany,  and  England.  The 
event  of  the  journey  of  September,  1880,  to  November,  1881,  was  a 
trip  to  Spain,  a  country  where  he  obtained  much  relief  from  botany. 

His  last  journey,  on  which  he  started  in  1887,  was  a  triumphant 
farewell,  in  which  were  heaped  upon  him  the  honors  bestowed  on  few 
naturalists.  He  visited  friends  in  France,  Austria,  and  Germany  ; 
stopped  at  Geneva  to  see  De  Candolle,  his  life-long  friend,  older  by 
four  years  than  himself,  and  sorrowfully  bade  him  what  both  must  have 
felt  to  be  a  last  farewell  ;  then  hurried  back  from  the  Continent  to  re- 
ceive the  Doctor's  degree  from  the  three  great  British  Universities,  and 
to  attend  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  at  Manchester.  Here 
he  saw  many  old  friends,  and  met  for  the  first  time  three  of  Germany's 
most  distinguished  botanists,  —  Cohn,  Pringsheim,  and  the  lamented 
De  Bary,  whose  untimely  death  was  to  come  but  a  few  days  before  his 
own.  At  Manchester  he  was  brought  into  contact  with  a  large  num- 
ber of  young  botanists,  who  were  charmed  with  his  genial  manner,  and 
astonished  at  his  well  preserved  vigor  of  body,  as  well  as  mind.  He  re- 
turned to  America  in  October,  apparently  in  perfect  health,  and  resumed 
active  labor  on  the  "  Flora  "  ;  but  while  busied  with  the  preparation  of 
the  Vitacece  for  that  work,  he  was  suddenly  stricken  with  paralysis,  on 
the  morning  of  November  28,  and  lingered  in  a  partially  conscious  con- 
dition until  the  evening  of  January  80,  when  he  passed  calmly  away. 

By  the  death  of  Asa  Gray,  this  Academy  has  lost  a  member  whose 
activity  and  zeal  were  unceasing,  and  whose  brilliant  talents  as  a  scien- 


326  ASA    GRAY. 

tific  writer,  not  surpassed  by  those  of  any  of  the  illustrious  names  on 
our  roll,  added  much  to  the  reputation  of  the  society  at  home  and  abroad. 
Elected  a  Corresponding  Member  in  1841,  he  became  an  active  member 
in  1842,  ou  his  settlement  in  Cambridge,  and  served  as  Corresponding 
Secretary  from  1844  to  1850,  and  again  from  1852  to  1863,  and  as 
President  from  1863  to  1873.  During  this  long  membership  of  more 
than  forty  years,  his  attendance  was  always  exemplary.  The  storms  of 
winter  and  the  inclemencies  of  spring,  which  kept  younger  men  at 
home,  did  not  prevent  his  coming  from  the  remote  Botanic  Garden  reg- 
ularly to  attend  the  meetings.  Although  an  honorary  member  of  most 
of  the  learned  societies  of  this  country,  and  of  many  of  the  most  promi- 
nent societies  of  Europe,  including  the  Royal  Society  of  London,  the 
French  Academy,  and  the  Imperial  Academy  of  St.  Petersburg,  of 
which  he  was  one  of  the  very  few  Americans  who  have  been  elected 
corresponding  members,  this  Academy  was  the  society  in  which  he  felt 
the  greatest  interest,  and  was  most  at  home. 

There  are  few  volumes  of  our  Proceedings  which  do  not  contain 
important  communications  from  his  pen.  One  of  the  earliest  of  his 
works,  the  "  Chloris  Boreali- Americana,"  was  printed  in  the  third 
volume  of  the  Academy's  Memoirs,  in  1846  ;  and  to  subsequent  vol- 
umes he  contributed  "  Plants?  Fendleriana?  Novi-Mexicanae,"  presented 
in  November,  1848  ;  "  Plantae  Novaa  Thurberianae,"  and  "  Note  on 
the  Affinities  of  the  Genus  Vavcea,  Benth.,  also  of  Rhyiidandra,  Gray," 
August  and  October,  1854;  and  a  group  of  four  papers,  entitled 
"Botanical  Memoirs,"  in  1859,  including  one  "On  the  Botany  of 
Japan,  and  its  Relations  to  that  of  North  America,"  —  a  remarkable 
essay  on  the  geographical  distribution  of  plants,  which  stamped  the 
author  as  worthy  to  rank  with  the  great  botanists  of  the  world.  We 
need  not  enumerate  his  many  papers  which  have  appeared  in  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Academy,  for  they  alone  would  fill  several  volumes. 
It  was  his  custom  to  embody  the  results  of  his  preliminary  studies  on 
the  North  American  flora  in  the  form  of  notes  on  critical  species, 
descriptions  of  novelties,  and  monographs  of  genera,  and  sometimes 
orders,  of  which  by  far  the  greater  part  first  appeared  in  our  Pro- 
ceedings, usually  under  the  heading  of  "  Botanical  Contributions,"  — 
a  long  aud  very  valuable  series,  dating  from  the  paper  "  On  some  New 
Composit.ee  from  Texas,"  presented  December  1,  1846,  and  ending  with 
the  posthumous  "  Notes  upon  some  Polypetalous  Genera  and  Orders," 
presented  April  19,  1888.  Nor  should  we  forget  the  many  biographical 
notices  in  which  he  commemorated  the  lives  and  works  of  others  with 
an  appreciating  discrimination,  written  in  a  manner  peculiarly  his  own. 


ASA   GRAY.  327 

The  botanical  department  of  Harvard  University  was  practically  cre- 
ated by  Asa  Gray.  In  1805  a  small  Botanic  Garden  was  established  at 
Cambridge,  under  the  auspices  and  by  the  aid  of  the  Massachusetts  So- 
ciety for  Promoting  Agriculture,  and  William  Dandridge  Peck  was 
appointed  Director  and  Professor  of  Botany.  In  1818  he  printed  a  "  Cat- 
alogue of  American  and  Foreign  Plants  cultivated  in  the  Botanic  Garden, 
Cambridge,"  in  which  1,309  species  were  enumerated ;  but  the  list  in- 
cluded some  common  cryptogams  found  everywhere,  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  phamogarnic  shrubs  and  weeds,  common  natives  of  the  region, 
hardly  to  be  counted  as  legitimate  members  of  a  botanic  garden.  Pro- 
fessor Peck  died  in  1822,  when,  owing  to  the  low  state  of  the  funds,  a 
Professor  was  not  appointed;  but  Thomas  Nuttall,  the  well  known 
botanist  and  ornithologist,  was  appointed  Curator  of  the  Garden,  and, 
later,  Lecturer  on  Botany.  This  amiable  but  very  reticent  naturalist  — 
who  apparently  did  not  find  his  residence  in  Cambridge  very  congenial, 
for  he  describes  himself  as  vegetating  like  his  plants  —  resigned  his 
position  in  1833,  and  returned  to  Philadelphia.  The  Garden,  such 
as  it  was,  was  then  put  under  the  charge  of  William  Carter,  a  gar- 
dener, and  the  lectures  on  botany  were  given  by  T.  W.  Harris,  the  well 
known  entomologist  and  Librarian  of  the  College,  and  Dr.  A.  A.  Gould 
of  Boston.  Not  long  before  1842  the  directorship  of  the  Garden 
was  offered  to  Mr.  George  B.  Emerson  of  Boston,  who  declined  the 
position  soon  afterwards  accepted  by  Dr.  Gray  in  connection  with  the 
Fisher  Professorship. 

On  Dr.  Gray's  accession  there  was  no  herbarium,  no  library,  only 
one  insignificant  greenhouse,  and  a  garden  all  in  confusion,  with  kw 
plants  of  value.  In  1844  he  moved  into  the  house  which  had  been 
built  for  Professor  Peck  in  the  Garden,  and  with  his  characteristic 
energy  he  soon  brought  together  an  herbarium  and  library,  and  ar- 
ranged the  Garden  systematically.  At  the  time  of  his  marriage  a 
small  wing  was  added  to  the  house,  of  which  the  lower  story  served 
as  a  study  and  herbarium  until  1864.  But  the  plants  soon  overran 
the  limits  of  the  herbarium,  and  finally  the  whole  house  was  crammed 
with  plants,  —  plants  in  the  dining-room,  in  the  attic,  in  the  closets, 
and  in  the  bedrooms  ;  for  whatever  he  could  spare  from  a  salary  of 
$1,000  at  first,  and  $1,600  afterwards,  was  spent  on  his  herbarium 
and  library.  In  1864,  dreading  the  danger  from  fire  to  a  collection 
kept  in  a  wooden  house,  he  offered  to  present  his  collections  to  the 
College,  on  condition  that  a  suitable  building  should  be  erected  for 
their  reception.  Through  the  liberality  of  Mr.  Nathaniel  Thayer  of 
Boston,  a  brick  building  to  be  used  as  an  herbarium  and  library  was 


Q 


28  ASA    GRAY. 


erected  in  1864,  at  a  cost  of  $12,000  ;  aud,  mainly  through  the  agency 
of  Mr.  G.  B.  Emerson,  a  further  sum  of  $10,000  was  raised,  the  in- 
come of  which  was  to  be  used  in  defraying  the  current  expenses  of 
the  Herbarium.  From  a  letter  by  Dr.  Gray  to  the  President  of  the 
University,  dated  November  20,  1864,  and  a  notice  in  the  American 
Journal  of  Science  of  March,  1865,  we  learn  that  the  Herbarium  then 
contained  at  least  200,000  specimens,  and  the  library  about  2,200 
botanical  works,  not  including  a  good  many  pamphlets.  There  was 
also  a  set  of  335  very  costly  illustrated  works,  contributed  by  Mr. 
John  A.  Lowell. 

Since  1864  the  Herbarium  has  been  constantly  enlarged,  principally 
by  exchanges,  of  which  those  from  the  Kew  Herbarium  especially  were 
of  very  great  value  ;  so  that  it  is  now  probably  twice  as  large  as  in  1864, 
and  forms  practically  a  National  Herbarium,  for  it  is  by  far  the  largest 
and  most  valuable  herbarium  in  America,  and  is  excelled  in  size  by  but 
few  of  the  older  and  richer  herbaria  of  Europe,  as  those  at  Kew,  Paris, 
Berlin,  the  De  Candolle  Herbarium  at  Geneva,  and  possibly  that  at  St. 
Petersburg.  In  the  representation  of  the  Phosnogams  of  North  America 
outside  the  tropics,  it  is  probably  unequalled  by  any  herbarium  except 
that  at  Kew.  The  library  at  the  time  of  Professor  Gray's  death  was 
roughly  estimated  to  contain  something  over  5,000  volumes  and  3,000 
pamphlets,  but  these  figures  are  probably  too  low.  Many  of  the  addi- 
tions since  1864  are  the  gift  of  Dr.  Gray.  In  building  up  this  vast 
collection,  he  gave  not  only  much  of  his  time  and  thought,  but  also  an 
actual  sum  of  money,  which  comes  well  up  in  the  thousands,  and,  to 
crown  all,  manifested  his  devotion  to  the  welfare  and  perpetuation  of 
the  collection  by  bequeathing  to  the  University  for  its  support  the 
royalties  on  his  publications. 

The  Garden  during  his  administration  was  improved  by  the  addition 
of  several  greenhouses,  in  which  were  cultivated  a  choice  selection  of 
exotics,  and  the  rather  limited  space  of  the  Garden  itself  was  filled  with 
good  representatives  of  the  flora  of  the  temperate  regions,  the  collec- 
tion of  Compositce  being  especially  important.  In  the  absence  of  a  suf- 
ficient endowment,  activity  on  the  part  of  the  Director  had  to  replace  the 
want  of  money,  and  he,  utilizing  the  means  at  hand,  succeeded  in  mak- 
ing the  Garden  an  exceedingly  important  means  of  exchange  between 
foreign  establishments  and  our  own  botanists  and  collectors.  European 
botanists  who  visited  the  Garden  wondered  how,  from  such  a  small  and 
ill-endowed  establishment,  so  much  had  been  done  in  aid  of  other  insti- 
tutions. The  explanation  lay  in  the  skill  and  energy  of  Dr.  Gray 
himself. 


ASA    GRAY.  329 

Gray's  work  as  a  teacher  extended  over  a  period  of  more  than  fifty 
years,  dating  from  the  first  lectures  on  botany  at  the  Fairfield  Medical 
School,  in   1831  and  1832,  and  the   publication  of  his  "  Elements  of 
Botany,"  in  1836.     During  that  period  he  trained  up  a  whole  race  of 
botanists,  now  scattered  through  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  so  that 
wherever  he  went  he  was  greeted  by  those  who  remembered  his  instruc- 
tion with  pleasure.     When  at  Santa  Barbara  in  1885,  an  elderly  man, 
who  seemed  to  be  about  his  own  age,  introduced  himself  as  a  former  pupil 
in  his  first  class  at   Harvard.     As  a  college  lecturer  he  was  not  seen  at 
his  best,  for  his  somewhat  hesitating  manner  when  he  spoke  extempora- 
neously was  unfavorably  contrasted  with  the  fervid,  almost  impetuous 
utterance  of  Agassiz,  and  the  clear  exposition  and  dignified  address  of 
Jeffries  Wyman,  his  two  great  contemporaries  at  Harvard.    In  his  public 
addresses  he  always  spoke  from  notes,  and,  especially  in  his  later  years, 
his  strikingly  expressive  face  commanded  the  attention  of  his  hearers  from 
the  start.     In  the  class-room   he   was  personally  much  liked,  and  he 
made  a  strong  impression  on  the  majority  of  students,  although,  in  the 
days  when  every  student  was  forced  to  study  botany,  there  were  of 
course  some  who  would  not  have  cared  for  the  subject  under  any  cir- 
cumstances.    The  instruction,  as  was  natural,  bearing  in  mind  his  own 
early  training  and  the  state  of  botany  in  this  country  at  the  time  when 
he  became  Professor  at  Harvard,  was  confined  mainly  to  the  morpho- 
logical study  of  flowering  plants ;  for  he  recognized  that,  until  some  ad- 
vance had  been  made  in  that  direction,  it  was  out  of  the  question  dealing 
adequately  with  the  more  technically  complicated  subjects  of  histology, 
embryology,  and  physiology. 

For  the  instruction  which  he  was  obliged  to  give,  the  resources  of  the 
Garden  and  Herbarium  and  the  ordinary  college  lecture-rooms  at  first 
sufficed,  but  at  last  it  became  necessary  to  provide  a  special  laboratory 
and  lecture-room  at  the  Garden.  A  liberal  friend  of  Dr.  Gray  and  the 
College  presented  a  sum  of  money  for  this  purpose,  and  in  1872  a  wing 
was  added  to  the  Herbarium.  About  this  time  the  demand  for  labora- 
tory instruction  and  equipment  increased  rapidly,  and  the  new  lecture- 
room  and  laboratory  were  soon  found  to  be  inadequate  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  increasing  calls  for  microscopic  and  physiological  work, 
and  they  were  at  length  abandoned.  It  is  not  surprising  that  Dr.  Gray 
could  not  foresee  how  great  the  growth  in  this  direction  was  to  be, 
even  in  his  own  life.  Probably  no  person  of  his  age  could  have 
foreseen  it. 

His  Herbarium  was,  at  one  period  or  another,  the  resort  of  nearly  all 
the  active  working  botanists  of  the  country,  and  thither  came  many 


330  ASA    GEAY. 

young  men  who  were  afterwards  to  aid  in  the  development  of  botanical 
studies  in  the  United  States.  His  intercourse  with  them  was  always 
free  and  unrestrained  by  formalities  of  any  kind,  and  he  seemed  more 
like  a  learned  frieud  than  a  teacher.  Passing  to  and  fro  from  his  own 
study  to  the  Herbarium,  he  greeted  all  cordially,  watching  and  criticising 
sharply  but  good-naturedly  the  work  that  was  going  on.  No  one  en- 
joyed a  hearty  laugh  more  than  he,  and  every  now  and  then  he  would 
brighten  the  work  by  some  anecdote  from  the  large  stock  which  his  re- 
tentive memory  ever  had  at  hand  ;  always,  however,  for  the  purpose 
of  emphasizing  some  point,  or  illustrating  some  fact  which  he  wished  to 
bring  out  more  clearly,  but  never  allowing  the  attention  of  those  about 
him  to  be  distracted  from  their  work.  Life  at  the  Herbarium  was  in- 
deed a  pleasure,  and  the  more  serious  work  was  well  seasoned  and 
spiced  in  the  days  when  the  agile  assistant,  Charles  Wright,  skipped 
about  like  a  squirrel,  his  diminutive  body  in  Cambridge,  his  larger  mind 
wandering  away  in  his  beloved  Cuba  and  the  Pacific  Islands,  —  when 
Brewer,  less  continent  than  his  teacher  in  the  matter  of  anecdote,  saw  in 
every  plant  before  him  some  episode  of  his  own  life  in  camp.  The 
approach  of  Dr.  Gray,  heralded  by  his  cheery  laugh,  or  perhaps  by  a 
mild  anathema  against  the  gardener,  who  every  morning,  regardless  of 
the  intentions  of  nature,  deluged  the  Cacti  placed  in  the  corridor,  we  all 
understood  to  mean  business,  for,  if  joking  was  allowed,  trifling  was  not. 
We  learned  something  about  botanists  as  well  as  about  botany,  and  often 
wondered  whether  Robert  Brown  were  really  as  great  as  he  was  repre- 
sented ;  and,  on  the  rare  occasions  of  a  visit  from  a  man  like  Dr.  Torrey 
or  Dr.  Engelmann,  we  asked  ourselves  whether  there  was  any  chance 
that  the  younger  generation  of  botanists  would  bear  any  comparison  with 
the  older.  None  who  have  worked  under  Dr.  Gray  at  the  Herbarium 
will  forget  the  deep  personal  interest  he  always  manifested  in  their 
work  and  future  prospects.  He  always  encouraged  and  stimulated  with- 
out holding  out  false  hopes.  To  those  who  wished  to  devote  themselves 
to  botany  in  the  years  still  recent,  when  it  was  scarcely  possible  for  a  bot- 
anist to  live  by  botany  alone,  he  used  to  say  :  "  Study  medicine,  and 
if  you  then  still  want  to  be  a  botauist,  go  ahead.  Your  medicine  will 
keep  your  botany  from  starving." 

Great  as  was  the  direct  influence  of  Dr.  Gray  upon  the  students  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact,  his  influence  on  the  development  of  botany 
in  this  country  through  the  medium  of  his  numerous  text-books  and 
manuals  was  even  more  important.  His  first  text-book,  "  Elements  of 
Botany,"  written  when  he  was  only  twenty-six  years  old,  shows  many 
of  the  best  characteristics  of  his  later  works,  being  written  in  a  smooth, 


ASA    GRAY.  331 

graceful  style,  with  the  different  topics  clearly  and  methodically  ar- 
ranged. The  vigorous  defence  of  the  natural  system  of  classification, 
which  now  appears  superfluous,  indicates  that  the  author  of  1836  was  a 
progressive  young  man,  who  had  shaken  off  the  conservatism  which  pre- 
vailed among  American  botanists  of  that  period.  That  he  was  young 
and  inexperienced  is  occasionally  shown,  as  in  the  amusing  statement 
that  "  the  herbarium  of  a  diligent  botanist  will  pass  so  frequently  under 
his  observation  that  any  very  extensive  ravages  [by  insects]  can  hardly 
take  place  without  his  being  aware  of  it  in  time  to  check  the  progress  of 
the  destroyers."  He  evidently  had  no  conception  of  how  large  his  own 
collection  would  become  in  a  few  years. 

The  "  Elements"  of  1836  developed  into  the  "Botanical  Text-Book" 
of  1842,  in  which  the  portion  relating  to  systematic  botany  was  much 
more  fully  treated  than  in  the  earlier  volume.  The  later  editions, 
which  appeared  at  intervals  until  1879,  are  familiar  to  every  one,  for 
they  have  been  the  means  of  opening  the  world  of  botany  to  more  than 
one  generation  of  American  botanists.  In  1868  the  "  Lehrbuch  der 
Botanik,"  by  Sachs,  appeared.  That  work  was  a  genuine  revelation, 
showing  the  advance  which  had  been  made  by  experts  in  the  science 
of  botany,  and,  although  somewhat  above  the  capacity  of  the  common 
student,  it  was  destined  to  produce  in  a  few  years  a  revolution  in  the 
method  of  botanical  instruction. 

Recognizing  the  new  era  which  had  opened  in  botany,  Dr.  Gray  re- 
vised the  plan  of  the  "  Text-Book,"  with  a  view  of  bringing  it  into  accord 
with  the  more  widely  developed  science  of  the  day,  and  in  1879  issued 
the  first  volume  of  the  revised  work,  in  which  he  included  the  Mor- 
phology of  Phasnogams,  Taxonomy,  and  Phytography,  thus  covering 
the  greater  part  of  the  ground  of  the  original  "  Text-Book,"  intrusting  to 
his  colleague,  Professor  Goodale,  the  volume  on  Physiological  Botany, 
which  appeared  in  1885  as  worthy  companion  of  its  predecessor,  and  to 
the  writer  the  volume  on  Cryptogams.  He  hoped,  but  hardly  could  have 
expected,  to  write  a  fourth  volume,  on  the  Orders  of  Phasnogamous 
Plants.  It  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that  he  was  never  able  to  write 
this  volume,  for  it  would  have  enabled  him  to  present  the  general  views 
on  classification  derived  from  a  long  and  exceptionally  rich  experience. 
No  better  text-book  on  the  subject  had  ever  been  written  in  the  Eng- 
lish language  than  Gray's  "Text-book"  in  the  original  form;  and, 
although  botanical  instruction  is  now  very  different  from  what  it  used 
to  be,  it  is  still  true  that,  as  an  introduction  to  the  study  of  Phaenogams, 
the  group  to  which  beginners  naturally  turn  their  attention,  the  later 
"Structural  Botany"  is  likely  to  hold  its  own  for  some  time  to  come. 


332  ASA   GRAY. 

In  1887,  just  before  he  started  on  his  last  European  journey,  he  finished 
a  small  book  giving  in  an  abbreviated  form  the  substance  of  the  Struc- 
tural Botany,  as  well  as  some  chapters  on  Cryptogams ;  and  for  this  his 
latest  text-book  he  revived  the  title  of  his  earliest  work,  "  Elements  of 
Botany." 

The  "  Manual  of  the  Botany  of  the  Northern  United  States,"  of  which 
the  first  edition  appeared  in  1847,  needs  no  words  of  praise  here. 
There  are  probably  few  members  of  the  Academy  who  do  not  own,  or 
have  not  at  some  time  owned,  a  copy  of  this  model  work.  Occasionally 
some  over-wise  person  has  discovered  that  certain  plants  grow  a  few 
inches  taller  or  bloom  a  few  days  earlier  than  is  stated  in  the  "  Manual "  ; 
but  the  botanist  is  yet  to  be  born  who  could  write  a  more  clear,  accu- 
rate, and  compact  account  of  the  flora  of  any  country.  The  only 
regret  is  that  he  could  not  have  written  manuals  for  all  parts  of  the 
country. 

Dr.  Gray  had  the  rare  faculty  of  being  able  to  adapt  himself  to  all 
classes  of  readers.  With  the  scientific  he  was  learned,  to  the  student 
he  was  instructive  and  suggestive,  and  he  charmed  the  general  reader 
by  the  graceful  beauty  of  his  style,  while  to  children  he  was  simplicity 
itself.  The  little  books,  "  How  Plants  Grow,"  and  "  How  Plants  Be- 
have," found  their  way  where  botany  as  botany  could  not  have  gained 
an  entrance,  and  they  set  in  motion  a  current  which  moved  in  the  gen- 
eral direction  of  a  higher  science  with  a  force  which  can  hardly  be  esti- 
mated. His  scientific  friends,  especially  those  abroad,  sometimes 
blamed  him  for  spending  time  in  popular  writing ;  but  he  may  have 
understood  himself  and  his  surroundings  better  than  they.  With  him 
botany  was  a  pleasure,  as  well  as  a  business.  Few  wrote  as  easily  as  he, 
and,  so  long  as  he  spent  most  of  his  time  in  higher  work,  he  certainly 
had  a  right  to  amuse  himself  with  writings  of  a  popular  character  if  he 
chose.  As  it  was,  he  interested  a  multitude  of  readers  in  the  subjects 
which  he  had  at  heart,  and  if  he  was  not  permitted  to  live  to  see  the 
completion  of  his  greatest  work,  "The  Synoptical  Flora,"  he  at  least 
was  able  to  leave  the  work  at  a  point  where  it  could  be  continued  by  a 
trusted  friend,  in  sympathy  with  all  his  plans. 

As  a  reviewer  he  was  certainly  extraordinary.  Some  of  his  reviews 
were,  in  reality,  elaborate  essays,  in  which,  taking  the  work  of  another 
as  a  text,  he  presented  his  own  views  on  important  topics  in  a  masterly 
manner.  Others  were  technically  critical,  while  some  were  simply 
concise  and  very  clear  summaries  of  lengthy  works.  Taken  collectively, 
they  show  better  than  any  other  of  his  writings  the  literary  excellence 


ASA   GRAY.  333 

of  his  style,  as  well  as  his  great  fertility  and  his  fairness  and  acuteness  as 
a  critic.  Never  unfair,  never  ill-natured,  his  sharp  criticism,  like  the 
surgeon's  knife,  aimed  not  to  wound,  but  to  cure ;  and  if  he  sometimes 
felt  it  his  duty  to  be  severe,  he  never  failed  to  praise  what  was  worthy. 
The  number  of  his  reviews  and  notices  written  during  his  connection 
with  the  American  Journal  of  Science  as  editor  and  assistant  editor  for 
over  thirty  years,  and  for  the  North  American  Review,  the  Nation, 
the  Atlantic  Monthly,  and  numerous  other  journals,  is  enormous,  and  it 
almost  seems  as  if  he  must  have  written  notices  of  the  greater  part  of  all 
the  botanical  works  he  had  ever  read.  Those  intimately  acquainted 
with  him  more  than  half  believed  that  he  was  able  to  write  good  notices 
of  books  written  in  languages  which  he  could  not  read.  He  was  able, 
as  if  by  instinct,  to  catch  the  spirit  and  essence  of  what  he  read,  without 
any  exertion  on  his  part.  One  who  wrote  so  much  might  have  become 
monotonous.  But  he  was  never  prosy,  and  his  style  was  so  easy  and 
flowing,  and  so  constantly  enlivened  by  sprightly  allusions  and  pleasing 
metaphors,  that  one  could  read  what  he  wrote  for  the  mere  pleasure  of 
the  reading.  His  was  one  of  the  rare  cases  where  Science  had  appro- 
priated to  herself  one  who  would  have  been  an  ornament  to  any  purely 
literary  profession. 

It  would  be  presumption  were  we  to  express  an  opinion  on  the 
position  of  Gray  as  a  scientific  botanist.  Fortunately  for  us,  it  is 
unnecessary.  The  greatest  living  systematic  botanist,  Sir  J.  D.  Hooker, 
the  one  by  his  attainments  and  position  fitted  above  all  others  to  speak 
with  authority  on  the  subject,  has  already  recorded  his  opinion  in  the 
following  words  :  — 

"  When  the  history  of  the  progress  of  botany  during  the  nineteenth 
century  shall  be  written,  two  names  will  hold  high  positions:  those  of 
Professor  Augustin  Pyrame  De  Candolle  and  of  Professor  Asa  Gray.  .  .  . 
Each  devoted  half  a  century  of  unremitting  labour  to  the  investigation  and 
description  of  the  plants  of  continental  areas,  and  they  founded  herbaria 
and  libraries,  each  in  his  own  country,  which  have  become  permanent  and 
quasi-national  institutions.  .  .  .  There  is  much  in  their  lives  and  works 
that  recalls  the  career  of  Linnaeus,  of  whom  they  were  worthy  disciples,  in 
the  comprehensiveness  of  their  labour,  the  excellence  of  their  methods, 
their  judicious  conception  of  the  limits  of  genera  and  species,  the  terseness 
and  accuracy  of  their  descriptions,  and  the  clearness  of  their  scientific 
language." 

The  accuracy  of  the  resemblance  of  Gray  and  De  Candolle,  so  admi- 
rably and  justly  expressed  by  Hooker,  will  be  recognized  by  all  botanists. 


334  ASA    GRAY. 

Gray  was  the  De  Candolle  of  America,  whose  mission  it  was  to  bring 
together  the  scattered  and  crude  works  of  the  earlier  explorers  and 
botanists  and  the  vast  unwrought  material  of  his  own  day,  and  to  com- 
bine them  with  his  surpassing  skill  into  one  grand  comprehensive  work 
which  should  fitly  describe  the  flora  of  a  continent.  But  while  recog- 
nizing the  resemblance  between  De  Candolle  and  Gray  in  their  mode 
of  work  and  the  purpose  for  which  they  strove,  we  can  only  marvel 
how  it  was  possible  for  a  poor  farmer's  boy  in  America,  without  a 
university  education,  to  become  the  peer  of  oue  of  Europe's  best 
trained    botanists. 

From  his  training  and  early  surroundings  we  might  have  expected 
him  to  be  energetic  and  original,  but  we  should  not  have  expected  to  find 
him  highly  polished  and  cultured.  His  associates  at  Fairfield  and  Clin- 
ton were  persons  of  scientific  tastes,  and,  even  if  their  attainments  were 
not  of  the  highest  quality,  they  encouraged  his  fondness  for  natural  his- 
tory. But  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how  he  obtained  the  literary  training 
which  enabled  him  to  write  with  the  ease  and  elegance  found  even  in 
his  earlier  works,  for  although  a  man  may  by  nature  be  a  good  observer 
of  natural  objects,  a  finished  style  comes  only  with  training  and  expe- 
rience. From  his  teacher,  Avery,  he  could  not  have  received  much  in 
the  way  of  training;  for  Dr.  Gray  himself  says  that  he  did  not  give 
him  the  sharp  drilling  and  testing  which  was  needed.  His  residence 
with  the  Torrey  family  in  New  York  first  placed  him  in  a  society 
where  literary  excellence  as  well  as  scientific  knowledge  was  prized ; 
and  while  he  profited  by  the  accuracy  and  strict  scientific  methods  of 
Dr.  Torrey,  then  the  foremost  American  botanist,  the  frequent  conver- 
sations and  kindly  criticisms  of  Mrs.  Torrey  made  good  many  of  the 
literary  deficiencies  of  his  early  training.  He  was  also  aided  while  in 
New  York  by  the  criticisms  and  suggestions  made  on  some  of  his  earlier 
manuscripts  by  the  cultured  botanist,  Mr.  John  Carey.  But  he  must 
have  been  an  apt  pupil,  for,  while  still  with  Dr.  Torrey,  he  showed 
that  in  point  of  clearness  and  accuracy  he  was  not  much  inferior  to  his 
highly  respected  teacher,  and  in  the  second  volume  of  the  "  Flora"  he 
proved  himself  to  be  quite  his  equal. 

The  plan  of  the  "  Flora  of  North  America"  originated  with  Dr. 
Torrey ;  but  when  his  pupil  went  to  Cambridge  to  assume  the  duties  of 
his  new  position,  neither  of  them  suspected  the  magnitude  of  the  task 
which  they  had  undertaken,  nor  the  modifications  which  the  plan  must 
ultimately  undergo.  The  pupil  was  now  in  a  more  fortunate  position 
than  his  teacher,  for  Gray  was  henceforth  able  to  devote  himself  to  his 
favorite  science,  while  Dr.  Torrey  could  only  employ  his  leisure  hours 


ASA   GRAY.  335 

ia  botany.  The  two  volumes  of  the  original  Torrey  and  Gray  "  Flora  " 
will  always  remain  a  memorial  of  the  unbroken  friendship  of  America's 
two  greatest  botanists,  alike  in  the  spirit  which  animated  their  work 
and  in  the  reverent  simplicity  of  their  characters. 

The  greater  part  of  Gray's  scientific  work  during  the  thirty-five  years 
following  the  completion  of  the  second  volume  of  Torrey  and  Gray's 
"  Flora,"  in  1843,  had  a  more  or  less  direct  bearing  on  the  contemplated 
revision  and  enlargement  of  that  work.  Besides  the  papers  printed  in 
the  Academy's  publications,  he  wrote  a  very  large  number  of  mono- 
graphs and  notes  on  points  connected  with  the  determination  and  de- 
scription of  new  and  doubtful  species.  They  are  scattered  through  the 
proceedings  of  different  learned  societies,  and  the  columns  of  the 
American  Journal  of  Science,  the  Torrey  Bulletin,  Botanical  Gazette, 
the  Naturalist,  and  other  American,  as  well  as  European  journals.  One 
of  his  most  important  works  was  "  Genera  Florae  Americae  Boreali- 
Orientalis  Illustrata"  (1848-49),  in  which  he  intended  to  figure  and 
describe  all  the  genera  of  the  Eastern  States,  with  the  aid  of  the  artist, 
Mr.  Isaac  Sprague.  Of  this  work  only  two  of  the  proposed  volumes 
were  ever  published,  owing  to  the  expense  entailed.  Other  important 
papers  were  "  Plantae  Wrightianae  Texano-Neo-Mexicanaa,"  in  the 
Smithsonian  Contributions  of  1852  and  1853;  "Plantar  Lindheimeri- 
anae,"  written  in  connection  with  Dr.  Engelmann  ;  "  Reports  on  the 
Botany  of  the  32d,  38th,  39th,  and  41st  Parallel  Expeditions,"  in  con- 
nection with  Dr.  Torrey ;  Gamopetalce  in  Watson's  Flora  of  California, 
etc.  An  examination  of  the  complete  list  of  his  works,  which  will 
soon  be  printed  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science,  would  alone  con- 
vey any  adequate  idea  of  his  extraordinary  fertility  as  a  writer,  and  the 
wide  range  of  his  investigations. 

After  this  long  preparation  of  thirty-five  years,  the  first  part  of  the 
"  Synoptical  Flora,"  including  the  Gamopetalce  after  Compositce,  ap- 
peared, in  1878.  It  formed  the  first  part  of  the  second  volume  ;  for,  on 
the  revised  plan,  the  first  volume  was  to  include  the  Polypetalce  and 
Gamopetalce  through  Compositce,  and  the  second  volume  the  remaining 
Exogens  and  the  Endogens.  A  second  part,  including  from  Caprifoli- 
acece  through  Compositce,  appeared  in  1884,  and  in  1886  supplements  to 
both  parts  were  issued,  and  the  whole  bound  in  one  volume.  He  was  at 
work  on  the  Polypetalce,  and  had  nearly  finished  the  Vitacece,  when 
attacked  by  his  last  illness,  and  the  unfinished  volumes  must  now  be 
completed  by  him  who  was  his  associate  for  many  years,  and,  after 
Dr.  Gray  himself,  the  best  fitted  for  the  work. 

Gray's  critical  knowledge  of  the  Flora  of  North  America  not  only 


336  ASA   GRAY. 

placed  him  at  the  head  of  all  American  botanists,  but  also  gave  him  a 
high  reputation  abroad.  In  his  knowledge  of  the  difficult  order  Com- 
posites, the  largest  of  all  the  orders  of  flowering  plants,  and  the  one 
in  which  he  always  felt  the  most  interest,  he  probably  surpassed  any 
living  botanist.  He  was  at  one  time  urged  by  Bentham  and  Hooker  to 
treat  that  order  in  their  classic  "  Genera  Plantarum,"  but,  as  the  work 
involved  a  residence  at  Kew  for  a  considerable  time,  he  was  obliged  to 
decline  the  offer. 

It  was,  however,  more  especially  through  his  observations  on  the 
geographical  distribution  of  plants  made  incidentally  during  the  pro- 
gress of  his  work  on  our  own  flora,  that  he  was  recognized  as  a  natu- 
ralist of  the  highest  type  by  the  scientific  circles  of  Europe.  When 
we  consider  the  marked  capacity  for  studies  of  this  nature  which  he 
afterwards  exhibited,  remembering  the  brilliant  contributions  to  Plant 
Geography  which  resulted  from  the  explorations  of  Robert  Brown, 
Darwin,  and  Hooker,  we  can  only  regret  that  Gray  did  not  sail  as 
botanist  of  the  Wilkes  Expedition.  The  collectors  of  the  expedi- 
tion, Dr.  Charles  Pickering,  W.  D.  Brackenridge,  and  William  Rich, 
brought  back  many  interesting  plants,  of  which  the  Phsenogams,  except- 
ing those  from  the  Pacific  Coast  of  America  sent  to  Dr.  Torrey,  were 
placed  in  his  hands  for  description.  But  Gray  would  have  been  more 
than  a  collector.  He  would  have  brought  back  impressions,  and,  recall- 
ing the  charming  narrative  of  the  illustrious  naturalist  of  the  Beagle,  we 
can  imagine  the  pleasure  with  which  we  should  have  read  the  journal  of 
a  botanist,  written  with  the  delicate  humor  and  the  keen  appreciation 
of  the  beautiful  and  curious  in  nature  which  Asa  Gray  possessed. 

The  study  of  the  Wilkes  plants,  in  which  he  was  aided  by  Bentham's 
large  experience,  gracefully  acknowledged  in  his  Memorial  of  Bentham 
in  the  American  Journal  of  Science  of  February,  1885,  introduced  him 
to  an  exotic  flora  of  large  range.  The  work  appeared  in  1854  as  a 
quarto  volume  of  nearly  eight  hundred  pages,  with  an  atlas  of  a  hun- 
dred folio  plates. 

His  first*  paper  on  the  distribution  of  plants  appeared  in  the  Ameri- 
can Journal  of  Science  of  September,  1856,  and  was  followed  by  two 
other  parts  the  next  year.  It  bore  the  title  of  "  Statistics  of  the  Flora 
of  the  Northern  United  States,"  and  was  prepared  at  the  time  he  was  at 


*  In  the  paper  "On  the  Botany  of  Japan,"  p.  442,  Gray  speaks  of  a  paper  on 
the  distribution  of  plants  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science  of  an  earlier  date 
than  the  one  here  mentioned,  but  the  writer  is  unable  to  identify  the  paper  in 
question. 


ASA   GRAY.  337 

work  on  a  second  edition  of  the  "  Manual,"  partly  in  response  to  a  re- 
quest from  Darwin  for  a  list  of  American  alpine  plants.     In  this  paper 
he  gave  a  general  view  of  the  characteristics  of  the  North  American 
flora,  with  tahles  of  species  showing  the  extension  of  alpine  plants,  and 
the  comparative  distribution  of  Eastern  and  Western  species,  and  their 
relation  to  species  of  Europe  and  Asia,  although  he  states  that  he  must 
defer  making  an  extended  comparison  with  the  plants  of  Northeastern 
Asia  until  he  has  studied  some  recent  collections  from  the  northern 
part  of  Japan.     The  most  important  conclusions  reached  in  this  paper 
may  be  stated  in  his  own  words:  "All  our  strictly  subalpiue  species 
(with  two  exceptions)  which  are  common  to  us  and  to  Europe,  extend 
northward  along  the  central  region  of  the  continent  quite  to  the  arctic 
sea-coast.     While  curiously  enough,  eleven,  or  one  third  of  our  strictly 
alpine  species  common  to  Europe,  —  all  but  one  of  them  arctic  in  the 
Old  World,  —  are  not  known  to  cross  the  arctic  circle  on  this  conti- 
nent.    This,  however,  might  perhaps  have  been  expected,  as  it  seems 
almost   certain    that   the   interchange    of   alpine    species    between    us 
and  Europe  must  have  taken  place  in  the  direction  of  Newfoundland, 
Labrador,  and  Greenland,    rather  than    through    the    polar    regions." 
Again  :    "  The   special  resemblance   of  our  flora  to   that  of   Europe, 
it  is  clear,  is  not  owing  simply  either  to  the  large  proportion  of  genera 
in  common,  or  to  anything   striking  or  important  in  the  few  genera 
nearly  or  quite  peculiar  to  the  two.     The  latter,  indeed,  are  insignifi- 
cant  in   our  flora,   and  not  to  be  compared,  as  to  any  features  they 
impart,  with  the  much  more  numerous  and  really  characteristic  genera 
which  are  shared  by  the  Eastern  United  States  and  Eastern  temperate 
Asia.     We  must  look  for  it  in  the  species,  partly  in  the  identical  ones, 
and  partly  in  those  which  closely  answer  to  each  other  in  the  two  floras." 
He  accounts  for  such  cases  as  the  occurrence  of  Phryma  Leptostachya 
in  the  United  States  and  Nepal  as  follows  :  "  We  should  therefore  look 
in  one  and  the  same  direction  for  the  explanation  of  these  extraordinary 
no  less  than  of  the  more  ordinary  cases  of  distribution,  and  .  .  .  should 
refer  such  anomalous  distribution  to  very  ancient  dispersion." 

The  plants  from  Japan  to  which  he  referred  were  collected  by 
Charles  Wright,  botanist  of  the  North  Pacific  Exploring  Expedition, 
known  as  the  Ringgold  and  Rodgers  Expedition,  of  which  Dr.  Gray  gave 
an  account  in  a  paper  "  On  the  Botany  of  Japan,  and  its  Relations  to 
that  of  North  America,  and  of  other  Parts  of  the  Northern  Temperate 
Zone,"  presented  to  this  Academy,  December  14,  1858,  and  January 
11,  1859,  and  published,  April  25,  1859,  in  the  sixth  volume  of  the 
Memoirs.  This  memoir  raised  his  reputation  to  its  highest  point 
vol.  xxiii.  (n.  s.  xv.)  22 


338  ASA   GRAY. 

among  scientific  men,  and,  appealing  again  to  the  authority  of  Sir  J.  D. 
Hooker,  "  in  point  of  originality  and  far-reaching  results  was  its  author's 
opus  magnum."  In  referring  to  his  previous  paper  in  the  American 
Journal,  he  states  with  great  candor,  that,  from  the  facts  there  brought 
out,  — "  1.  that  a  large  percentage  of  our  extra-European  types  are 
shared  with  Eastern  Asia ;  and  2.  that  no  small  part  of  them  are 
unknown  in  Western  North  America,"  —  Mr.  Bentham  was  the  first 
to  state  the  natural  conclusion  that  the  interchange  between  the  tem- 
perate floras  even  of  the  western  part  of  the  Old  World  and  of  the 
New,  has  mainly  taken  place  via  Asia.  He  cites  Bentham's  suggestion 
of  a  continuity  of  territory  between  America  and  Asia,  "  under  a  lati- 
tude, or  at  any  rate  with  a  climate,  more  meridional  than  would  be 
effected  by  a  junction  through  the  chains  of  the  Aleutian  and  the 
Kurile  Islands."  He  then  proceeds  to  show  why  a  connection  in  a 
more  meridional  latitude  need  not  be  assumed ;  and,  fortified  by  the 
wide  geological  knowledge  of  his  friend,  Prof.  J.  D.  Dana,  he  gives 
a  masterly  account  of  the  relations  of  the  floras  of  the  North  Tem- 
perate regions  from  the  Cretaceous  period  to  the  present  time,  ac- 
counting for  the  present  distribution  by  migrations  of  species  from 
the-  Arctic  regions  due  principally  to  the  different  climatic  conditions 
of  the  jjre-glacial,  glacial,  and  post-glacial  eras.  The  relations  of  the 
floras  of  Eastern  America  and  Eastern  Asia  was  a  favorite  topic  with 
him,  and  he  often  spoke  on  the  subject  in  public ;  his  two  most  impor- 
tant addresses  in  which  he  referred  to  plant  distribution  being  that  on 
"  Sequoia  and  its  History,"  delivered  as  retiring  President  of  the 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  in  1872,  and  a 
lecture  on  "  Forest  Geography  and  Archaeology,"  read  before  the  Har- 
vard Natural  History  Society  in  1878,  and  afterwards  translated  in 
the  Annales  des  Sciences. 

The  study  of  plant  distribution  necessarily  involved  the  question 
of  the  origin  of  species,  and  this  brings  us  to  a  consideration  of  the 
relations  of  Gray  to  Darwin  and  Darwinism.  Gray  first  met  Darwin 
at  Westbank,  the  residence  of  Sir  W.  J.  Hooker  at  Kew,  in  1851  ;  and 
their  correspondence  dates  from  a  letter  of  Darwin  written  April  25, 
1855,  asking  for  information  about  the  alpine  plants  of  the  United 
States.  How  intimate  and  frequent  their  correspondence  became,  and 
how  deeply  each  was  interested  in  the  work  of  the  other  is  admirably 
shown  in  the  "  Life  and  Letters  of  Charles  Darwin."  The  published  let- 
ters present  a  vivid  picture  of  the  inner  scientific  life  of  these  two  men, 
—  both  equally  simple,  earnest,  remarkably  free  from  prejudice,  and 


ASA   GRAY.  339 

anxious  to  do  justice  to  the  work  of  others.  Many  of  the  problems 
upon  which  Darwin  was  at  work  were  those  in  which  Gray  was  most 
interested ;  and  he  was  often  able  to  aid  Darwin  by  his  observations, 
and  still  more  by  his  judicious  and  always  acceptable  criticisms.  While 
the  naturalist  at  Down  was  absorbed  in  the  study  of  climbing  plants 
and  cross-fertilization,  the  greenhouses  at  Cambridge  were  also  used  as 
nurseries  for  the  growth  of  climbers,  and  the  odd,  irregularly  flowered 
plants  which  ought  to  be  cross-fertilized.  The  writer  recalls  the  time 
when  Dr.  Gray  hardly  ever  passed  in  or  out  of  the  Herbarium  without 
stroking —  patting  on  the  back  by  way  of  encouraging  them  it  almost 
seemed —  the  tendrils  of  the  climbers  on  the  walls  and  porch;  and  when, 
on  the  announcement  that  a  student  had  discovered  another  new  case 
of  cross-fertilization  in  the  Garden,  he  would  rush  out  bareheaded  and 
breathless,  like  a  schoolboy,  to  see  the  thing  with  his  own  critical  eyes. 
Darwin,  in  a  letter  dated  July  20,  1856,  confided  to  Gray  that  he 
had  "  come  to  the  heterodox  conclusion  that  there  are  no  such  things  as 
independently  created  species,  —  that  species  are  only  strongly  defined 
varieties."  In  this  letter  he  also  says,  "  I  assume  that  species  arise 
like  our  domestic  varieties  with  much  extinction."  About  a  year  after 
this,  September  5,  1857,  Darwin  wrote  to  Gray  the  now  famous  letter, 
in  which  he  propounded  the  law  of  the  evolution  of  species  by  means  of 
natural  selection  ;  and  it  was  this  letter,  read  at  the  Linnean  Society, 
July  1,  1858,  on  the  occasion  of  the  presentation  of  the  joint  paper  of 
Darwin  and  Wallace,  "On  the  Tendency  of  Species  to  form  Varieties; 
and  on  the  Perpetuation  of  Varieties  and  Species  by  Natural  Means  of 
Selection,"  which  fixed  the  date  of  the  priority  of  the  great  discovery  as 
due  to  Darwin.  What  were  Gray's  own  views  on  the  subject  of  evolu- 
tion previous  to  the  publication  of  the  "  Origin  of  Species,"  in  November, 
1859,  may  perhaps  be  inferred  from  some  remarks  which  he  made  on 
January  11,  1859,  when  he  presented  his  paper  '"On  the  Botany  of 
Japan  "  to  this  Academy.  He  then  stated  that  "  the  idea  of  the  descent 
of  all  similar  or  conspecific  individuals  from  a  common  stock  is  so  natu- 
ral, and  so  inevitably  suggested  by  common  observation,  that  it  must 
needs  be  first  tried  upon  the  problem  [of  distribution],  and  if  the  trial  be 
satisfactory,  its  adoption  would  follow  as  a  matter  of  course."  In  brief, 
he  was  inclined  to  accept  evolution,  but  wished  more  proof;  and  nearly 
three  years  earlier,  in  a  letter  to  Professor  Dana,  written  December  13, 
1856,  he  had  well  expressed  his  own  attitude  by  sayiug,  "I  have  as  yet 
no  opinion  whatever,  and  no  very  strong  bias."  He  saw  what  was 
coming,  however,  and  in  a  later  letter  to  Professor  Dana,  anticipating 
the  publication  of  the  "  Origin  of  Species,"  he  says,  "  You  may  be  sure 


340  ASA   GRAY. 

that  before  long  there  must  be  one  more  resurrection  of  the  develop- 
ment theory  in  a  new  form,  obviating  many  of  the  arguments  against 
it,  and  presenting  a  more  respectable  and  more  formidable  appearance 
than  it  ever  has  before." 

Gray  was  one  of  the  favored  three,  including  Hooker  and  Lyell, 
to  whom  Darwin  sent  advance  sheets  of  the  "  Origin  of  Species " 
prior  to  its  publication  in  November,  1859 ;  and  of  his  review  in  the 
American  Journal  of  Science  of  the  following  March,  Darwin  wrote, 
"  Your  review  seems  to  me  admirable,  —  by  far  the  best  I  have  read." 
The  review  certainly  presents  most  accurately,  succinctly,  and  attract- 
ively Darwin's  own  views ;  but  Gray  does  not  even  here  announce 
that  he  is  himself  a  complete  convert  to  the  doctrine,  as  is  seen  by  the 
following  citation  :  "  What  would  happen  if  the  derivation  of  species 
were  to  be  substantiated,  either  as  a  true  physical  theory,  or  as  a  suf- 
ficient hypothesis  ?  The  inquiry  is  a  pertinent  one  just  now.  For, 
of  those  who  agree  with  us  in  thinking  that  Darwin  has  not  established 
his  theory  of  derivation,  many  will  admit  with  us  that  he  has  rendered 
a  theory  of  derivation  much  less  improbable  than  before ;  that  such  a 
theory  chimes  in  with  the  established  doctrines  of  physical  science,  and 
is  not  unlikely  to  be  largely  accepted  long  before  it  can  be  proved." 
And  the  similar  statement  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  of  October,  1860: 
"Those,  if  any  there  be,  who  regard  the  derivative  hypothesis  as  satis- 
factorily proved,  must  have  loose  notions  of  what  proof  is.  Those  who 
imagine  it  can  be  easily  refuted  and  cast  aside  must,  we  think,  have 
imperfect  or  very  prejudiced  conceptions  of  the  facts  concerned  and  of 
the  questions  at  issue." 

In  1876  he  brought  together  in  a  volume,  entitled  "  Darwiniana,"  his 
principal  essays  and  reviews  pertaining  to  Darwinism,  taken  from  the 
American  Journal  of  Science,  the  Nation,  and  the  Atlantic  Monthly, 
and  added  a  chapter  on  "Evolutionary  Teleology";  and  in  1880  he 
published  "  Natural  Science  and  Religion,"  two  lectures  delivered  to 
the  Theological  School  of  Yale  College,  before  a  critical  audience,  who 
listened  with  the  deepest  interest  to  what  was,  in  some  points,  his 
most  advanced  view  of  natural  selection.  We  need  not  dwell  on  a 
subject  about  which  so  much  has  lately  been  written  by  far  abler  pens 
than  ours.  Briefly  stated,  Gray  was  probably  the  best  expounder  of 
Darwinian  principles,- — meaning  thereby  those  actually  advocated  by 
Darwin  himself,  and  excluding  the  wild  deductions  attached  to  the 
original  theory  by  those  who  deserve  the  name  of  Darwinissimists 
rather  thau  Darwinists,  —  although  he  himself  regarded  natural  selec- 
tion as  a  less  efficient  cause  than  it  was  assumed  to  be  by  Darwin. 


ASA    GRAY.  341 

His  influence  as  an  exponent  of  Darwinism  was  due  partly  to  the 
admirable  clearness  and  candor  of  his  reviews,  and  his  interesting  way 
of  putting  things;  for  his  fertile  imagination  was  constantly  discovering 
apt  similes  to  illustrate  otherwise  dry  arguments.    It  was  also  due  in  part 
to  his  known  caution  and  conservatism,  and  his  professed  Christian  faith. 
If  an  avowed  accepter  "  of  the  creed  commonly  called  the  Nicene  "  saw 
nothing  in  Darwinism  which  implied  atheism,  or  was  opposed  to  the  idea 
of  design  on  the  part  of  the  Creator,  surely  one  might,  at  least,  listen 
to  his  account  of  the  development  theory  with  safety.     To  his  hearers 
at  New  Haven,  in  1880,  he  said:  "Natural  selection  by  itself  is  not  an 
hypothesis,  nor  even  a  theory.     It  is  a  truth,  —  a  catena  of  facts  and 
direct  inferences  from  facts.  .  .  .  There  is  no  doubt  that  natural  selec- 
tion operates ;  the  open  question  is,  what  do  its  operations  amount  to. 
The  hypothesis  based  on  this  principle  is,  that  the  struggle  for  life  and 
survival  of  only  the  fittest  among  individuals,  all  disposed  to  vary  and 
no  two  exactly  alike,  will  account  for  the  diversification  of  the  species 
and  forms  of  vegetable  and  animal  life,  —  will  even  account  for  the  rise, 
in  the  course  of  countless  ages,  from  simpler  and  lower  to  higher  and 
more  specialized  living  beings."     He  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  natural 
selection  is,  on  the  whole,  a  good  working  hypothesis,  but  does  not  ex- 
plain how  wholly  new  parts  are  initiated,  even  if  the  new  organs  are 
developed  little  by  little.     He  repeated  over  and  over  again  in  differ- 
ent reviews  his  belief  that  natural  selection  could  not  account  for  varia- 
tion, and  he  stated  the  case  particularly  forcibly  in  his  "  Evolutionary 
Teleology " :    "  Natural    selection    is    not  the  wind  which  propels  the 
vessel,  but  the  rudder  which,  by  friction,  now  on   this  side  and  now 
on  that,  shapes  the  course.     The  rudder  acts  while  the  vessel  is  in 
motion,  effects  nothing  when  it  is  at  rest.     Variation  answers  to  the 
wind.  ...  Its  course  is  controlled  by  natural  selection.     This  proceeds 
mainly  through  outward  influences.     But  we  are  more  and  more  con- 
vinced that  variation  ...  is  not  a  product  of,  but  a  response  to,  the 
action  of  the  environment.     Variations  are  evidently  not  from  without, 
but  from  within." 

But  how  do  variations  arise?  According  to  Gray,  by  virtue  of  some 
inherent  power  imparted  in  the  beginning  by  Divine  agency.  That 
granted,  natural  selection  would  in  great  part  account  for  the  present 
condition  and  distribution  of  life,  so  that  one  could  be  a  Darwinian  and 
Deist  at  the  same  time.  Gray  further  believed  that  variation  is  apt 
to  follow  in  certain  more  or  less  regular  directions,  and  particularly  in 
beneficial  directions.  Here  he  differed  very  widely  from  Darwin.  The 
one  saw  design  where  the  other  could  not,  and  it  must  be  confessed 


342  ASA    GRAY. 

that  Gray  was  treading  on  delicate  ground,  scientifically  if  not  theologi- 
cally speaking,  when  he  affirmed  the  direction  of  variation  in  beneficial 
lines.  For  what  is  meant  by  beneficial  ?  Beneficial  to  whom  ?  Bene- 
ficial for  what  purpose  ?  In  one  sense,  any  variation  which  tends  to 
enable  a  living  being  to  survive  in  the  struggle  for  existence  is  benefi- 
cial ;  and  to  say  that  any  being  or  structure  has  survived  is  the  same 
as  saying  that  the  variation  from  which  it  sprang  was  beneficial.  But 
Gray  apparently  uses  the  word  beneficial  in  the  sense  of  being  fore- 
ordained to  be  beneficial. 

Perhaps  we  must  look  to  inheritance  itself  for  an  explanation  of  the 
difference  in  the  views  of  Gray  and  Darwin.  The  Gray  family  were 
devout  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  throughout  his  life 
Dr.  Gray  adhered  faithfully  to  the  orthodox  faith  of  his  fathers, 
his  own  views  being  in  harmony  with  those  of  the  liberal  branch 
rather  than  with  those  of  the  conservative  branch  of  that  communion. 
The  agnostic  position  of  Darwin  may  perhaps  be  inferred  from  his 
own  description  of  himself  and  his  father  as  belonging  "  nominally 
to  [the]  Church  of  England,"  an  expression  which  leads  one  to  be- 
lieve that  he  was  hardly  to  be  counted  a  member  of  that  or  any  other 
denomination.  When  a  young  man,  Gray  certainly  had  no  leanings 
towards  evolution.  In  his  review  of  the  "  Vestiges  of  Creation,"  in  the 
North  American  Review  of  1846,  he  wrote  :  "Although  'geology  fully 
proves'  that  there  have  been  various  creations,  that  different  species  were 
created  at  different  periods,  and  that  some  of  the  humblest  and  simplest 
first  appeared,  while  land  animals,  quadrupeds,  quadrumana,  and  bimana 
were  not  introduced  until  after  the  earth  was  fitted  for  their  residence, 
yet  we  are  still  to  be  convinced  that  they  were  not  then  created  as  per- 
fect as  they  now  are."  But  he  was  convinced  later,  when  he  studied 
the  relations  of  the  North  American  flora  to  that  of  Asia,  and  he  ac- 
cepted without  hesitation  the  view  that  the  present  species  are  not 
special  creations,  but  derived  from  previously  existing  species  at  a  time 
when  the  truth  of  the  theory  was  scarcely  recognized  by  any  naturalists, 
and  at  a  date  when  in  the  public  mind  a  belief  in  evolution  meant  athe- 
ism. He  had  the  courage  to  avow  openly  his  convictions,  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  never  allowed  his  convictions  to  be  governed  by  wild 
speculations. 

But  we  who  have  known  Asa  Gray  so  many  years  would  now  recall, 
not  the  great  botanist,  but  rather  the  kind-hearted,  genial  man,  whose 
sympathy  cheered  and  whose  wisdom  guided, — whose  heart  was  ever 
young,  whose  brain  was  ever  active.     His  long  life,  unclouded  by  great 


LAURENS   PERSEUS    HICKOCK.  343 

sorrow  and  almost  free  from  personal  enmities,  was  inspired  throughout 
by  a  faith  which  never  faltered.  Retaining  to  the  last  the  energy  and 
vivacity  of  youth,  his  intellect  broadening  and  ripening,  his  character 
growing  more  and  more  sweet  and  serene,  he  reminds  us  of  one  of  those 
trees  which  bear  flowers  and  fruit  at  the  same  time.  Industrious  to  an 
extent  that  few  could  equal,  his  work  done,  he  enjoyed  society  with  a 
relish,  and  his  ready  wit,  his  inexhaustible  stock  of  anecdotes,  and  his 
quick  and  keen  appreciation  of  the  best  in  literature  and  art,  made  him 
everywhere  welcome.  His  own  house  was  open  to  all,  and  even  those 
who  came  to  pay  the  simple  tribute  of  staring  were  not  often  turned 
away.  With  a  graceful  hospitality  to  which  wealth  could  have  lent  no 
greater  charm,  he  entertained  the  learned  of  many  nations,  and  welcomed 
with  special  cordiality  his  brother  botanists,  a  long  array,  including 
not  only  the  experts  in  the  science,  but  the  poor  and  struggling  student 
as  well.  He  shared  with  all  the  treasures  of  his  knowledge,  and,  not 
infrequently,  he  added  something  from  the  modest  competence  which 
his  industry  had  amassed.  The  words  of  good  cheer  from  his  lips  were 
re-echoed  in  after  years,  and  the  life  so  honorable  was  not  unhonored. 
If  the  numerous  honorary  degrees  from  learned  societies  at  home  and 
abroad  testify  to  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  as  a  scientific  bot- 
anist, the  warm  congratulations  of  friends  from  all  parts  of  the  country 
when  the  memorial  vase  was  presented  on  his  seventy-fifth  birthday 
show  no  less  clearly  how  much  he  was  beloved  as  a  man.  And  when, 
during  dreary  weeks,  his  anxious  friends  hoped  against  hope,  watching 
to  catch  the  sound  of  the  loved  voice  which  would  speak  but  could  not, 
all  felt  that  the  message  which  he  sought  to  utter  must  have  been  a 
benediction.  But  it  was  not  needed.  His  life  was  a  benediction,  and, 
as  his  body  was  borne  to  its  last  resting  place,  the  freshly  fallen  snow 
was  not  more  pure  than  his  character,  nor  the  sparkling  winter  air  more 
bright  and  clear  than  his  intellect. 


b 


LAURENS   PERSEUS   HICKOCK. 

Laurens  Perseus  Hickock,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was  born  at  Danbury, 
Connecticut,  December  22,  1798,  and  died  at  Amherst,  May  7,  1888. 
He  graduated  at  Union  College  in  1820,  then  studied  divinity,  and 
served  two  short  pastorates  in  his  native  State.  In  1836  he  became 
Professor  of  Theology  in  the  Western  Reserve  College,  Ohio.  In 
1844  he  removed  to  Auburn,  New  York,  to  take  a  professorship  in 
the  Theological  School.  In  1852  he  was  elected  to  the  Professorship 
of  Mental  and  Moral  Philosophy  in  Union  College,  and  at  the  same 


344  MARK   HOPKINS. 

time  was  chosen  Vice-President  of  that  institution,  Dr.  Nott,  the  Pres- 
ident, needing  not  infrequent  aid  in  a  charge  which  he  had  borne  for 
nearly  half  a  century. 

In  1861,  Dr.  Hickock,  as  Acting  President,  assumed  in  full  the 
duties  of  the  office,  and  in  1867  was  chosen  as  Dr.  Nott's  successor. 
In  the  following  year  he  resigned  the  Presidency,  and  has  since  lived 
in  retirement,  wellnigh  surviving  the  eminent  reputation  which  he  long 
bore  as  a  teacher  and  an  author.  Thirty  years  ago  his  was  probably 
the  foremost  name  among  the  metaphysical  writers  in  America.  His 
several  treatises  on  Psychology  and  Ethics  manifest  equally  the  most 
intimate  conversance  with  the  history  of  philosophy,  and  a  rare  capacity 
of  original  speculation  and  profound  reasoning.  Had  his  command 
of  English  style  been  commensurate  with  his  learning  and  ability,  his 
books  would  have  won  an  enduring  place  among  the  master-works  of 
his  time.  No  man  ever  toiled  through  one  of  them  without  beiug 
doubly  rewarded  in  the  mental  athleticism  demanded  for  its  perusal 
and  in  the  wealth  of  thought  to  which  he  has  found  access ;  and  men 
by  far  his  inferiors  have  drawn  from  him  much  which,  digested  and 
assimilated,  they  have  given  to  the  world  as  their  own.  But  deficiency 
in  the  arts  of  sentence-building  and  book-making  has  so  limited  the 
circulation  of  his  works,  that  of  the  younger  men  of  culture  and  science 
who  have  seen  the  notice  of  his  death  few  know  that  in  his  special 
department  he  has  left,  if  equals,  no  superior. 

MARK   HOPKINS. 

Mark  Hopkins,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  was  born  at  Stockbridge,  February 
4,  1802,  and  died  at  Williamstown,  June  17,  1887.  He  graduated  at 
Williams  College  in  1824,  remained  at  the  College  as  Tutor  for  two 
years,  then  studied  medicine,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion in  New  York  in  1829.  The  following  year  he  was  recalled  to 
Williams  College  as  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  Moral  Philosophy,  and 
became  President  in  1836,  retaining  during  his  presidency  a  large  por- 
tion of  his  work  as  a  teacher,  and  subsequently  filling,  in  addition  to 
his  duty  as  President,  the  office  of  Professor  of  Christian  Theology. 
Several  years  before  his  death  he  resigned  the  presidency,  but  retained 
the  professorship,  and  until  the  close  of  his  life  in  the  quality  of  his 
work  as  an  instructor  he  was  unsurpassed,  if  not  unequalled.  Among 
our  many  distinguished  teachers  the  foremost  reputation,  as  we  think, 
has  by  general  consent  been  conceded  to  him.  He  had  the  great  ad- 
vantage of  small  classes,  so  that  he  could  enter  into  familiar  relations 


MARK   HOPKINS.  345 

with  the  students  individually,  and  thus  adapt  himself  to  their  respective 
modes   and  measures   of    receptivity.     While    he    was    President,   his 
method  was  to  take  the  Freshmen  specially  under  his  charge  for  the 
first  term,  and  in  the  form  of  a  recitation  from  some  simple  manual 
that  required  no  elaborate  study  on  their  part  or  exposition  on  his,  to 
talk  to  them  and  with  them  on  a  wide  range  of  subjects  bearing  on  their 
scholarship,  character,  and  aims  in  life.     His  endeavor  was  to  become 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  them,  and  to  bring  them  into  intimate  inter- 
course with  himself.     In  subsequent  portions  of  the  college  course,  he 
frequently  attended  the  recitations  of  the  other  teachers,  and  in  case  of 
their  illness  or  absence  was  wont  to  serve  as  their  substitute.     In  the 
Senior  year  he  again  took  possession  of  the  class,  and  in  two  or  three 
separate  courses  he  was  their  sole  instructor.     He  trained  them  to 
think,  and  to  express  their  opinions  freely,  on  a  wide  range  of  subjects 
in  mental  philosophy,  ethics,  sociology,  and  civil  polity.     One  of  the 
results  was  that  the  essays  on  the  stage  at  the  Williams  College  Com- 
mencement showed  a  maturity  and  vigor  of  intellect  that  seemed  hardly 
to  belong  to  scholars  still  in  their  novitiate.     Many  strong  and  eminent 
men  were  trained  under  him,  and  there  was  not  one  of  them  who  did 
not  regard  the  educational  services  of  President  Hopkins  as  among  the 
most  important  factors  of  his  intellectual  and  moral  character,  and  of  his 
success  in  life. 

Dr.  Hopkins,  after  returning  to  Williams  College,  prepared  himself 
for  the  Christian  ministry,  and  received  ordination.  As  a  preacher  he 
combined  to  a  rare  degree  strength  and  beauty.  His  style  is  eminently 
forceful,  yet  rich  in  the  unstudied  graces  of  a  mind  attuned  to  all  har- 
monies and  endowed  with  the  keenest  aesthetic  intuition.  His  services 
as  a  preacher  were  eagerly  sought,  and  his  published  discourses  have  a 
permanent  value,  equally  for  the  great  themes  that  constitute  their 
subjects  and  for  the  masterly  treatment  of  those  themes,  whether  in 
argument,  illustration,  or  appeal  to  the  individual  conscience.  He  also 
published  a  series  of  Lowell  Lectures  on  the  Evidences  of  Christianity, 
and  several  series  of  Lectures  on  subjects  belonging  to  the  department 
of  Ethics,  —  all  of  which  are  indicative  of  his  profoundness  of  thought 
and  of  his  didactic  power. 

Dr.  Hopkins  was  for  several  years  President  of  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  and  presided  at  the  annual  meeting 
next  preceding  his  death,  when  he  endeavored  to  act  as  mediator  be- 
tween the  contending  parties,  though  without  the  success  that  was  justly 
due  to  his  weight  of  character,  his  judicial  fairness  and  impartiality,  and 
the  reverence  which  a  presence  like  his  could  not  fail  to  inspire. 


346  CHARLES    ELLIOT   WARE. 

Dr.  Hopkins  had  a  massive  and  rugged  strength  of  body  correspond- 
ing to  his  type  of  intellect.  After  he  had  passed  his  eightieth  year  he 
travelled  extensively  in  Europe,  and  performed  some  of  the  most  toil- 
some of  the  journeys  in  the  mountainous  regions  of  Switzerland.  He 
attended  the  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  Harvard  College, 
and  endured  the  fatigues  of  that  season  without  a  symptom  of  weariness. 
He  continued  his  full  class-work  without  intermission  or  faltering  till 
the  very  day  of  his  death. 

In  private  life,  in  his  home,  and  in  society,  Dr.  Hopkins  won  no  less 
affection  than  respect,  for  gentleness,  kindness,  hospitality,  and  the 
entire  range  of  the  peculiarly  Christian  virtues.  No  man  can  have  been 
more,  or  more  worthily,  beloved,  or  would  have  been  more  lamented, 
had  not  his  friends  rejoiced  that  so  noble  an  earthly  life  should  pass 
on  to  heaven  before  the  else  inevitable  infirmities  of  age  had  begun  to 
enfeeble  his  body  or  to  obscure  his  mind. 

CHARLES   ELIOT   WARE. 

The  family  of  Dr.  "Ware  has  long  been  distinguished  in  this  commu- 
nity. His  father,  Henry  Ware  (H.  U.  1785),  was  for  forty  years  Hollis 
Professor  of  Divinity,  and  his  brother  Henry  Ware,  Jr.  was  Professor 
of  Pulpit  Eloquence  and  Pastoral  Care  for  thirteen  years,  in  Harvard 
University.  John  Ware,  another  brother,  for  twenty-six  years  Hersey 
Professor  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Physic  in  the  same  University, 
was  one  of  the  most  eminent  physicians  of  Boston. 

Dr.  Ware  was  born  on  May  7,  1814,  graduated  at  Harvard  College 
in  1834,  and  three  years  later  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine. 
He  was  well  fitted  for  his  calling  by  the  clearness  of  his  perceptions,  by 
the  soundness  of  his  judgment,  and  by  his  industrious  habits.  He  was 
well  read  in  medical  literature,  and,  while  not  departing  from  a  wise 
conservatism,  his  mind  was  open  to  receive  the  new  truths  which  are 
constantly  presented  by  the  rapid  advance  of  medical  science.  He  soon 
rose  to  the  front  rank  of  the  profession,  and  acquired  a  large  practice, 
which  he  retained  for  many  years,  until  compelled  by  failing  health  to 
retire  from  active  labor.  He  was  for  ten  years  one  of  the  visiting 
physicians  to  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital,  and  on  his  resig- 
nation, in  1867,  was  appointed  on  the  Consulting  Staff.  He  was  an 
influential  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  Vice-President,  of 
the  Boston  Lying-in  Hospital.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  various 
organizations  for  medical  progress  in  Boston,  and  for  six  years  was  Sec- 
retary of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society.     In  conjunction  with  the 


SPENCER  FULLERTON  BAIRD.  347 

late  Dr.  Samuel  Parkman,  he  established,  in  1842,  the  New  England 
Quarterly  Journal  of  Medicine.  In  looking  over  the  only  volume  of 
this  periodical  which  appeared,  one  is  astonished  at  its  superiority,  con- 
sidering the  state  of  medical  science  among  us  at  that  time.  Many 
of  the  articles  are  of  a  high  order,  and  could  it  have  been  sustained  for 
a  few  years  longer  it  would  have  done  much  for  the  progress  of  medi- 
cine in  this  country ;  but  the  mass  of  the  profession  were  not  able  to 
appreciate  its  value,  and  it  was  discontinued  at  the  end  of  a  year  from 
lack  of  support. 

After  his  withdrawal  from  the  practice  of  his  profession,  Dr.  Ware 
spent  many  months  of  each  year  in  the  town  of  Rindge,  N.  H.,  upon  a 
farm  which  he  delighted  to  cultivate,  where  he  died,  on  the  3d  of 
September,  1887,  aged  seventy-three  years. 


ASSOCIATE     FELLOWS. 

SPENCER  FULLERTON  BAIRD. 

Professor  Spencer  Fullerton  Baird  held  at  the  time  of  his 
death  three  important  scientific  posts  at  Washington.  He  was  Secretary 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  and 
Director  of  the  National  Museum.  He  was  born  at  Reading,  Penn- 
sylvania, February  2,  1823,  graduated  at  Dickinson  College  in  1840, 
and  was  appointed  to  the  chair  of  Natural  History  by  his  Alma  Mater 
in  1845.  In  1850  he  accepted  the  position  of  Assistant  Secretary  of 
the  Smithsonian,  and  removed  to  Washington. 

Professor  Baird  was  best  known  to  science  as  a  successful  student 
of  Vertebrata,  and  he  is  credited  by  Stejneger  and  Ridgeway  with 
having  originated  the  Bairdian  school  of  ornithologists  through  his 
improvements  upon  the  previously  existing  methods  of  research. 

He  had  charge  of  the  department  of  exploration  in  the  Smithsonian, 
and  was  very  influential  in  securing  the  connection  of  scientific  workers 
with  the  numerous  surveys  sent  out  by  the  government,  and  took  the 
most  prominent  part  in  the  working  up  of  the  collections  brought  home 
by  the  earlier  expeditions. 

He  also  exercised  a  very  large  and  beneficial  influence  upon  the 
general  progress  of  science  in  this  country  through  his  admirable 
management  of  the  department  of  exchanges  in  the  Smithsonian. 


348  SAMUEL   GILMAN   BROWN. 

Professor  Baird's  private  collection  was  the  real  beginning  of  the 
National  Museum.  His  advent  in  the  Smithsonian  was  immediately 
followed  by  the  donation  of  this  collection,  and  the  initiation  of  a  move- 
ment which,  by  slow  degrees,  finally  led  to  the  building  and  equipment 
of  our  National  Museum,  in  1882. 

It  was  largely  due  to  his  work  that  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  was 
established,  and  Major  Powell  placed  at  its  head,  in   1879,  and   the 
annual  report  of   the  Director  is  still  made   to   the   Secretary  of  the! 
Smithsonian. 

The  Bureau  of  Fish  and  Fisheries  was  established  wholly  through 
his  exertions  and  influence.  Its  services  to  science  have  been  very 
marked,  especially  in  the  important  work  of  exploration  and  descrip- 
tion of  the  faunas  of  the  coast.  Its  services  to  economical  science  can- 
not be  fairly  estimated  at  the  present  time,  but  even  within  the  few 
years  since  it  began  experimenting,  it  has  demonstrated  that  the  bold- 
ness of  its  plan  and  the  confidence  of  Baird  in  the  resources  of  scien- 
tific investigation  were  well  grounded.  The  Commission  has  shown 
that  the  prosperity  of  the  fisheries  and  the  supply  of  food  fishes  from 
our  inland  waters  and  rivers  can  be  controlled,  and,  further,  that  we 
may  also  hope  to  be  able  to  control  the  supply  to  be  derived  from  the 
sea.  Independently  of  their  economic  value,  these  facts  are  important 
additions  to  our  scientific  knowledge,  and  their  influence  upon  the 
prospects  of  science  through  the  respect  thus  cultivated  in  the  minds 
of  practical  men  has  been  very  considerable. 

Professor  Baird's  personal  and  social  influence  at  Washington,  and 
throughout  the  country,  was  in  proportion  to  his  great  abilities  and 
unselfish  life. 

The  foundation  of  one  institution  leaves  often  an  ineradicable  impress 
upon  the  history  of  science.  Professor  Baird's  record  included  the 
origin  and  early  history  of  two  institutions,  and  services  of  vital  im- 
portance in  the  foundation  of  others.  These  are  his  monuments,  and 
future  generations  will  read  in  them  the  story  of  a  life  of  devotion  to 
research  and  the  betterment  of  humanity,  which  will  not  fail  to  excite 
their  admiration  and  gratitude. 

SAMUEL  GILMAN  BROWN. 

Rev.  Samuel  Gilman  Brown,  the  son  of  Francis  Brown,  Presi- 
dent of  Dartmouth  College,  was  born  at  North  Yarmouth,  Maine, 
January  4,  1813.  He  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1831,  and 
at  the  Andover  Theological  Seminary  in  1837.     Though  an  ordained 


MATTHEW   ARNOLD.  349 

Congregational  minister  he  never  had  a  pastoral  charge.  From  1835 
to  1837^116  was  Principal  of  the  Abbot  Academy  at  Andover ;  from 
1837  to  1863,  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  Oratory  in  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege ;  from  18G3  to  1867,  Professor  of  Intellectual  Philosophy  and 
Political  Economy  in  Dartmouth  College;  from  1867  to  1881,  Presi- 
dent of  Hamilton  College,  at  Clinton,  New  York.  He  resigned  his 
presidency  on  account  of  declining  health,  and  took  up  his  residence  at 
Utica,  New  York,  where  he  died  on  the  4th  of  November,  1885.  His 
principal  literary  work  was  "  The  Life  of  Rufus  Choate."  He  deliv- 
ered in  Boston  courses  of  Lowell  Lectures  on  "  The  Earlier  English 
Literature,"  and  on  "  British  Orators." 

President  Brown  was  a  man  of  exquisite  literary  taste,  master  of  a 
singularly  chaste  and  pure  English  style,  an  able  preacher,  a  thorough 
student,  an  accomplished  scholar.  As  a  teacher,  he  never  failed  to  win 
the  sincerest  respect,  gratitude,  and  affection  of  his  pupils,  and  in  Dart- 
mouth College  especially  there  is  no  memory  of  the  present  century 
more  dearly  cherished  than  his.  He  was  a  modest  man,  and  was  sel- 
dom seen  except  at  his  posts  of  duty  and  of  public  service ;  but  to  those 
who  enjoyed  his  intimacy  he  seemed  unsurpassed  in  the  virtues  and 
graces  that  command  equal  honor,  reverence,  and  love. 


FOREIGN  HONORARY  MEMBERS. 

MATTHEW  ARNOLD. 

Among  the  eminent  men  of  letters  whose  names  have  been  borne  on 
the  roll  of  Foreign  Honorary  Members  of  the  Academy  during  the  past 
generation,  not  one  has  clone  more  to  affect  the  course  of  the  deeper  cur- 
rents of  thought  in  his  time  than  Matthew  Arnold.  The  writings  of 
some  others  have,  indeed,  been  more  popular  than  his,  and  more  widely 
read.  But  he  has  specially  addressed  the  minds  capable  of  receiving  and 
of  propagating  the  highest  influences.  No  other  English  writer  has  at- 
tained such  distinction  in  prose  and  in  poetry  alike,  or  displayed  such 
equality  of  power  as  poet  and  as  critic.  Alike  in  poetry  and  in  prose 
his  aim  has  been  "  the  moral  interpretation,  from  an  independent  point 
of  view,  of  man  and  of  the  world."  In  fidelity  to  this  aim  is  the  unity 
of  his  work  as  poet  and  as  critic ;  for  such  interpretation  is  the  great 
business  of  both. 


350  MATTHEW   ARNOLD. 

He  was  the  eldest  son,  and  the  second  child  of  his  parents,  and  was 
born  on  the  24th  of  December,  1822,  at  Lalehara,  near  Staines,  in  Mid- 
dlesex, where  his  father,  then  a  man  of  twenty-seven  years  old,  after- 
ward to  become  so  widely  known  and  honored  as  the  Head  Master  of 
Rugby  School,  was  at  the  time  residing.  Dr.  Arnold  was  appointed  to 
Rugby  in  1827,  and  removed  thither  with  his  family  during  the  next 
year.  For  some  years,  while  he  was  still  a  young  boy,  Matthew  Arnold 
was  sent  to  a  private  school  at  Laleham  ;  but  in  August,  1836,  he  en- 
tered Winchester,  where  he  remained  for  a  year  before  being  transferred 
to  Rugby  and  brought  immediately  under  his  father's  powerful  influ- 
ence. His  poem  of  *' Rugby  Chapel,"  written  in  1857,  fifteen  years 
after  his  father's  death,  commemorates  justly  those  strong  and  high 
qualities  of  character,  that  fervent  and  heroic  nature,  which  made  Dr. 
Arnold  not  only  a  master  of  schoolboys,  but  a  leader  of  men.  In  1841 
he  went  up  to  Oxford,  having  won  the  open  scholarship  at  Balliol  Col- 
lege. At  Oxford  he  was  both  popular  and  successful.  The  University 
was  full  of  a  fervent  life,  in  which  Arnold  had  a  large  share.  In  the 
opening  of  his  Lecture  on  Emerson,  written  late  in  life,  he  has  repro- 
duced, in  a  passage  of  incomparable  beauty,  the  impression  of  these  Ox- 
ford days,  and  of  the  contemporary  voices  which  appealed  most  strongly 
to  his  youth.  In  his  first  academic  year  he  won  the  Hertford  Scholar- 
ship, given  for  proficiency  in  Latin  ;  he  won  the  Newdigate  prize  for 
English  poetry  with  a  poem  on  Cromwell ;  but  in  his  final  examina- 
tions he  was  disappointed,  and  obtained  only  a  second  class.  This  dis- 
appointment was  made  up  for,  however,  by  his  election  in  1845,  just 
thirty  years  after  the  election  of  his  father,  to  a  Fellowship  in  Oriel,  at 
that  time  a  College  specially  distinguished  by  the  brilliant  character  of 
its  Fellows.  Newman,  who  in  this  very  year  left  Oxford  for  Rome, 
was  one  of  them.  Among  the  others,  to  mention  only  those  who  have 
attained  more  than  a  University  reputation,  were  Dr.  Church,  the 
present  Dean  of  St.  Paul's ;  James  Fraser,  the  late  admirable  Bishop 
of  Manchester ;  and  Clough,  who  stood  nearer  to  Arnold  in  friendship 
than  any  of  the  rest.  Long  afterwards  Arnold  commemorated  this 
friendship  and  its  associations  with  Oxford  in  his  poem  of  "  Thyrsis," 
—  an  elegy  that  ranks  with  the  best  that  Greek  or  English  poetry  has 
to  show. 

Arnold  was  not  disposed  to  enter  the  Church,  and  in  1847  he  ac- 
cepted the  place  of  private  secretary  to  Lord  Lansdowne.  This  gave 
him  access  to  the  world  of  affairs,  but  his  ruling  taste  for  letters  was 
manifested  by  the  publication  in  the  next  year  of  his  first  volume,  "  The 
Strayed  Reveller,  and  other  Poems,  by  A."     It  had  no  great  success,  and 


MATTHEW   ARNOLD.  351 

in  the  later  collection  and  reprint  of  his  Poems  a  large  part  of  the  con- 
tents of  this  volume  is  omitted.  But  a  discerning  critic  might  have 
recognized  in  it  the  qualities  of  a  new,  strong,  individual  genius.  The 
hand  had  not  yet  attained  full  mastery  over  the  instrument,  but  its 
touch  was  one  of  exceptional  sensibility  and  refinement.  The  sentiment 
of  the  Poems  was  instinct  with  the  modern  spirit,  but  their  form  was 
largely  shaped  on  the  models  of  classic  tradition.  Arnold's  poetry  was 
the  poetry  of  a  scholar,  but  of  a  scholar  in  closest  sympathy  with  the 
sentiment  and  emotions  of  his  own  generation. 

In  1851,  resigning  his  private  secretaryship,  he  was  married,  and  ap- 
pointed to  the  post  of  Lay  Inspector  of  Schools,  a  position  which  he  held 
for  most  of  his  remaining  life.  It  was  a  post  of  drudgery,  scantily  paid, 
of  often  wearisome  routine,  and  of  apparently  narrow  limits  of  useful- 
ness. His  professional  work  was  little  noted  by  the  public,  but  he  car- 
ried into  it  a  spirit  of  such  energy  and  wisdom  that,  subordinate  as  his 
position  was,  he  became  one  of  the  most  strenuous  and  powerful  re- 
formers of  the  system  of  school  education  in  England,  and  one  of  the 
chief  agents  in  bringing  about  the  salutary  and  far-reaching  changes 
which  have  been  carried  into  practice  during  the  last  twenty  years.  In 
the  series  of  Annual  Reports  published  by  the  Committee  of  Council  on 
Education  a  great  part  of  the  work  of  his  life  is  to  be  found  recorded. 
His  contributions  to  these  Reports  have  more  than  a  transient  interest : 
they  belong  to  literature ;  they  are,  to  use  a  phrase  of  his  own,  "  satu- 
rated with  thought." 

In  1859,  and  again  in  1865,  he  was  sent  to  the  Continent  to  study 
and  report  upon  the  system  and  condition  of  public  education  in  France, 
Germany,  and  Holland;  and  in  1867  he  published  an  important  volume 
containing  the  result  of  his  observations  and  investigations.  But,  not- 
withstanding the  constancy  of  his  official  occupation,  he  found  time  for 
his  chosen  pursuits,  and  for  the  cultivation  both  of  poetry  and  of  learn- 
ing. He  published,  in  1853,  "  Empedocles  on  Etna,  and  other  Poems  "  ; 
and  in  1854,  a  volume  made  u£>  partly  of  new  poems,  partly  of  a  selec- 
tion of  those  of  his  poems  previously  printed  which  he  cared  to  pre- 
serve. He  was  not  a  popular  poet,  but  the  impression  made  by  his 
poetry  upon  select  readers  was  deeper  than  that  made  by  any  contem- 
porary verse.  In  1857,  he  was  chosen  to  the  Professorship  of  Poetry 
at  Oxford,  and  from  this  chair  he  delivered  his  Lectures  "  On  Translat- 
ing Homer,"  and  "  On  the  Study  of  Celtic  Literature,"  which  gave  him 
the  undisputed  position  of  a  master  in  criticism.  The  Preface  to  his 
tragedy  of  "  Merope,"  in  1858,  set  forth  ably  his  view  of  the  true 
principles  of  criticism,  which  was  illustrated  by  the  volume,  published  a 


352  MATTHEW   ARNOLD. 

few  years  later,  in  1865,  of  his  "Essays  in  Criticism."  "A  disinter- 
ested endeavor  to  learn  and  propagate  the  best  that  is  known  and 
thought  in  the  world  ; "  "  in  all  branches  of  knowledge,  theology,  phi- 
losophy, history,  art,  science,  to  see  the  object  as  in  itself  it  really  is  ; " 
"  to  know  the  best  that  is  known  and  thought  in  the  world,  and,  by  in 
its  turn  making  this  known,  to  create  a  current  of  true  and  fresh 
ideas,"  —  this  was  Arnold's  definition  of  the  nature  and  business  of 
criticism.  It  was  a  new  and  fruitful  conception  for  the  English  mind. 
The  first  suggestion  of  it  doubtless  came  to  him  from  Goethe  and 
Sainte-Beuve,  but  neither  of  them  had  formulated  the  method  and 
motive  of  criticism  with  such  precision.  Subject,  form,  style,  are  not 
the  final  object  of  criticism,  but  the  life  they  exhibit.  It  is  the  criticism 
of  life  that  underlies  all  true  criticism  of  books,  of  manners,  of  institu- 
tions. And  it  was  as  a  critic  in  this  sense  that  Arnold  treated  the 
deepest  problems  of  our  time,  literary,  theological,  and  social. 

He  held  the  Professorship  of  Poetry  for  two  terms  of  five  years,  as 
long  as  under  its  statute  it  could  be  held  consecutively  by  the  same 
person.  As  years  went  on  he  wrote  less  poetry,  and  fewer  essays  on 
literary  topics.  He  devoted  himself  mainly  to  the  study  and  criticism  of 
theological  and  religious  questions.  He  was  by  nature  deeply  religious. 
The  rapid  growth  of  scepticism  and  unbelief  among  large  sections  of  the 
English  people,  including  many  of  the  most  thoughtful  and  serious  minds, 
seemed  to  him  largely  due  to  the  false  notions  prevalent  in  the  churches, 
and  embodied  in  their  accepted  creeds,  as  to  the  real  nature  of  the  Bible, 
and  the  true  character  of  Jesus  and  of  his  teachings.  He  applied  his 
critical  method  to  the  exposition  of  these  subjects.  He  treated  them 
with  a  free  hand,  but  there  could  be  no  question  of  the  seriousness  and 
sincerity  of  his  aim.  His  attempt,  as  he  said,  "  was  an  attempt  con- 
servative, an  attempt  religious."  His  work  has  had  great  effect,  and 
probably  no  single  influence  during  the  past  twenty-five  years  has  done 
more  to  lift  the  character  of  theological  discussion  from  dogmatic  advo- 
cacy of  special  doctrines  to  disinterested  inquiry  and  investigation  of  the 
truth. 

After  a  period  of  more  than  thirty  years'  service  as  Inspector  of 
Schools,  he  retired  from  the  place  on  a  scanty  pension,  with  the  intent 
of  giving  himself  more  entirely  to  literature.  In  1883-84  he  visited 
America  and  delivered  three  or  four  striking  and  interesting  lectures  in 
many  of  our  cities.  But  he  was  not  fitted  for  a  popular  lecturer.  His 
delivery  did  not  do  justice  to  his  thought.  His  discourse,  full  of  charm 
of  style,  full  of  literary  distinction,  and  full  of  independent  thought  that 
required  openness  of  mind  for  its  just  appreciation,  fell  coldly  on  audi- 


MATTHEW   ARNOLD.  353 

tors  accustomed  to  more  mere  rhetorical  excellence.  In  private  inter- 
course he  made  many  warm  friends,  who  were  glad  to  welcome  him 
again  on  a  second  visit  to  this  country  in  1886.  In  the  interval  between 
his  two  visits,  and  after  his  final  return  to  England,  he  published  sev- 
eral articles  on  America,  embodying  the  results  of  his  personal  observa- 
tions. They  were  as  frank  and  independent  as  the  criticisms  of  his  own 
people  had  been  from  the  beginning  of  his  career.  The  same  poetic 
sensibility  of  nature,  the  same  breadth  of  cosmopolitan  culture,  which 
had  made  him  susceptible  to  the  clumsiness,  the  coarseness,  the  unintel- 
ligence,  of  the  masses  of  the  English  people,  —  faults  which  he  exposed 
and  condemned  with  an  essentially  good-humored  flow  of  wit,  irony, 
and  keen  good-sense,  —  made  him  equally  susceptible  to  the  narrow- 
ness, materialism,  and  vulgarity  of  many  of  the  aspects  of  American 
civilization.  '  But  his  censorship  was  in  both  cases  based  on  a  large  and 
truthful  appreciation  of  the  soul  of  excellence  that  exists  beneath  the 
unattractive  shows  and  evil  tendencies  of  the  actual  social  order.  His 
wounds  are  sharp,  but  they  are  the  salutary  wounds  of  a  friend.  His 
last  words  touching  the  matter,  spoken  two  months  before  his  death, 
are:  "The  English  race  overspreads  the  world,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  ideal  of  an  excellence  the  most  high  and  the  most  rare  abides  with 
it  forever." 

Still  in  the  fresh  enjoyment  of  life,  still  preserving  the  spirit  of  youth, 
death  came  suddenly  to  him  on  the  14th  of  April  last.  It  was  caused 
by  inherited  disease  of  the  heart.  The  death  of  his  father  had  been  of 
like  suddenness,  from  the  same  cause. 

The  great  service  of  Arnold  has  been  his  steady  assertion  of  the  su- 
premacy of  the  spiritual  element  in  life,  and  his  constant  appeal  to  the 
higher  intelligence.  He  has  fulfilled  the  great  function  of  the  poet  and 
of  the  critic,  —  the  endeavor  to  interpret  human  life  afresh  in  terms 
appropriate  to  the  actual  generation,  and  to  supply  it  with  the  spiritual 
basis  it  requires. 

To  those  who  knew  him  intimately,  Arnold  was  one  of  the  most  lov- 
able of  men.  He  was  a  delightful  companion,  —  simple,  cordial,  cheer- 
ful, with  great  variety  of  interest  in  men  and  things.  His  tastes  were 
those  of  an  Englishman  of  letters,  who  finds  culture  as  well  as  pleasure 
not  only  in  books,  but  also  in  out-door  things.  His  sympathies  with 
dumb  animals  were  deep.  He  had  a  tender  and  affectionate  heart, 
and  a  pure  soul.  "  The  happiness  at  which  we  all  aim,"  he  said,  "  is 
dependent  on  righteousness."     He  had  much  happiness  in  life. 

vol.  xxiii.  (n.  s.  xv.)  23 


354  GEOEG   CURTIUS. 


GEORG  CURTIUS. 


Georg  Curtids,  younger  brother  of  the  classical  archaeologist  and 
historian,  Ernst  Curtius,  was  born  at  Liibeck  in  1820.  He  studied 
classical  philology  at  Bonn  and  Berlin,  and  in  1842  became  teacher  at 
the  Blochmann  Institute  in  Dresden.  He  early  interested  himself  in 
the  comparative  philology  of  the  Indo-European  languages,  at  that 
time  a  new  branch  of  inquiry,  especially  in  its  bearings  on  Greek,  and 
his  most  important  contributions  to  science  were  made  in  this  field. 
His  first  book,  issued  in  1842,  was  entitled  De  Nominum  Grcecorum 
Formations  Curtius's  academic  career  began  in  1846,  when  he  became 
privat-docent  in  Berlin  ;  in  1849  he  was  called  to  an  extraordinary 
professorship  at  Prague,  and  in  1851  he  was  appointed  Professor  Or- 
dinarius  in  the  same  institution.  From  1854  to  1862  he  was  professor 
at  Kiel ;  in  1862  he  went  to  Leipzig  to  the  professorship  held  through 
the  first  half  of  the  century  by  the  famous  Gottfried  Hermann  ( 1 809- 
48).  This  position  he  retained  until  his  death,  on  August  12,  1885. 
Professor  Curtius  will  ever  hold  an  honorable  place  in  the  history  of 
classical  scholarship  in  Germany,  in  part  through  his  own  writings,  and 
in  part  through  the  school  of  philologians  founded  by  him.  His  princi- 
pal works  are  his  Grundziige  der  griechischen  Etymologie  (1858-62,  1st 
ed.),  and  his  Griechisches  Verbum  (1873-76,  1st  ed.).  He  also  wrote 
a  Greek  Grammar  for  schools  (1852,  1st  ed.),  which,  appearing  in 
many  editions,  is  now  the  most  popular  school  Greek  Grammar  in 
Germany.  Upon  this  work  is  freely  based  the  Grammar  of  Professor 
James  Hadley.  In  1863  was  published  the  Erlauterungen  zur  meiner 
griechischen  Grammatik.  Curtius's  interests  as  a  scholar  were  by  no 
means  confined  to  the  study  of  the  Greek  language.  He  lectured,  and 
wrote  many  articles  and  pamphlets,  on  subjects  in  classical  literature, 
philology,  and  history,  and  on  classical  education.  A  collection  of 
these  essays  has  lately  been  made.  As  founder  and  as  conductor  of  his 
Grammatische  Gesellschaft  at  Leipzig  through  many  years,  Professor 
Curtius  gathered  about  him  a  large  number  of  men  destined  to  become 
eminent  as  classical  and  comparative  philologists ;  the  first  fruits  of 
their  work  under  his  inspiration  were  in  part  collected  in  the  Studien 
zur  griechischen  und  lateinischen  Grammatik  (1868-77).  Curtius  was 
a  pioneer  in  his  work,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  some  of  his  positions 
have  been  abandoned  by  the  advancing  scholarship  of  the  younger  gen- 
eration. His  writings,  however,  will  long  remain  an  indispensable  part 
of  the  apparatus  of  the  classical  scholar.  As  a  university  lecturer 
Curtius  enjoyed  remarkable  popularity ;  his  style  was  simple,  and  his 


AUGUST   WILHELM    EICHLER.  355 

method  was  the  perfection  of  lucid  and  systematic  demonstration.  To 
Americans  he  always  extended  a  most  cordial  welcome,  and  in  the 
charming  hospitality  of  his  home  he  was  ever  seconded  by  his  ac- 
complished wife,  familiarly  known  as  Curtia.  There  are  many  of 
our  younger  scholars  whose  pleasantest  and  most  stimulating  associa- 
tions with  German  scholarship  are  connected  with  the  personality  of 
Georg  Curtius. 

AUGUST   WILHELM  EICHLER. 

August  Wilhelm  Eichler  was  born  at  Neukirchen,  in  Hesse- 
Cassel,  on  the  22d  of  April,  1839.  After  a  gymnasial  course  at  Hers- 
feld  he  entered  the  University  of  Marburg,  where  he  devoted  himself 
to  the  study  of  mathematics  and  the  natural  sciences,  the  latter  under 
the  guidance  of  Wigand.  In  1861  he  gained  his  doctorate,  the  subject 
of  his  thesis  as  candidate  being  "  The  Development  of  the  Leaf,  with 
especial  Reference  to  the  Formation  of  Stipules,"  which  at  once  revealed 
his  talent  and  promise.  Upon  Wigand's  recommendation,  he  was  now 
invited  by  Martius  to  Munich  to  be  his  assistant  in  the  care  of  his  her- 
barium, and  soon  became  engaged  with  him  upon  his  great  work,  the 
"  Flora  Brasiliensis,"  to  which  he  contributed  largely  until  the  death 
of  Martius,  in  1869,  when  he  himself  assumed  the  editorship  of  it. 
From  1865  till  1871  he  also  gave  private  botanical  instruction  in  the 
University  of  Marburg,  and  then  accepted  the  position  of  Professor  of 
Botany  in  the  Polytechnic  Institution  at  Griitz.  In  1873  he  was  ap- 
pointed Professor  of  Botany  at  Kiel,  and  five  years  later  succeeded 
Alexander  Braun  as  Director  of  the  Royal  Botanic  Garden  and  Museum 
at  Berlin,  which  office  he  held  till  his  death,  on  the  2d  of  March,  1887. 

Eichler's  contributions  to  the  "  Flora  Brasiliensis,"  which  included 
the  Gymnosperms,  many  of  the  smaller  polypetalous  orders,  and  several 
of  the  other"  dicotyledonous  orders,  were  marked  by  extreme  thorough- 
ness, and  established  his  reputation  as  an  acute  and  skilful  systematic 
botanist.  These  investigations  led  to  the  discussion  by  him  of  various 
morphological  questions,  especially  in  relation  to  the  structure  of  the 
flower  in  the  orders  under  review,  and  out  of  this  grew  the  most  impor- 
tant and  prominent  of  his  publications,  the  "  Bliithendiagramme."  In 
this  strictly  morphological  treatise  Eichler  took  up  the  phaMiogamous 
orders  consecutively,  and  with  much  originality  and  painstaking  accu- 
racy gave  in  detail  the  peculiarities  of  many  of  the  genera  under  each 
order  in  respect  to  the  inflorescence,  the  parts  of  the  flower,  and  their 
arrangemeut,  illustrating  the  whole  with   numerous   diagrams.      The 


356  HENRY   JAMES   SUMNER   MAINE. 

work  is  unique  in  its  class  for  its  extent,  completeness,  and  thorough- 
ness. 

Eichler  was  a  man  of  strong  will,  having  a  great  capacity  for  labor, 
and  with  a  sensitiveness  to  duty  which  allowed  him  no  rest  so  long  as 
his  physical  strength  endured.  During  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life, 
however,  he  suffered  much  from  disease,  which  revealed  itself  in  1886 
as  the  fatal  malady  known  as  leukaemia. 

He  was  elected  Member  of  this  Academy  in  1885,  as  successor  to 
George  Bentham.  His  name  has  been  given  to  a  Brazilian  genus  of 
Gerauiacea?. 

HENRY  JAMES  SUMNER  MAINE. 

Sir  Henry  James  Sumner  Maine  was  born  in  the  year  1822. 
He  was  a  son  of  the  physician,  Dr.  James  Maine.  He  was  educated 
at  Christ's  Hospital,  and  at  the  University  of  Cambridge,  where  he 
received  many  honors  for  his  excellent  scholarship.  The  Craven 
Scholarship  was  given  him,  and  medals  for  Latin  and  English  verses. 
He  was  Senior  Classic,  Senior  Chancellor's  Classical  Medalist,  and 
Senior  Optime  in  Mathematics.  He  took  his  degree  in  1844.  He  did 
not  receive  a  fellowship  from  his  own  College,  Pembroke.  There  were 
no  Pembroke  fellowships  vacant  at  the  time.  He  received  one  from 
Trinity  Hall,  and  took  up  his  residence  there.  He  was  Tutor  in  the 
College,  and  afterwards,  at  a  later  period  of  his  life,  its  Head  Master. 

Between  the  years  1844  and  1847  he  must  have  been  mainly  occu- 
pied with  the  study  of  Jurisprudence;  for  in  1847  he  was  made 
Regius  Professor  of  the  Civil  Law  in  his  University.  Three  years 
later,  in  1850,  he  was  called  to  the  bar,  and  became  a  member  both 
of  Lincoln's  Inn  and  of  the  Middle  Temple.  At  the  Middle  Temple 
he  was  Reader  in  Jurisprudence  and  the  Civil  Law,  and  delivered  the 
lectures  which  were  afterwards  (in  1861)  published  under  the  title  of 
Ancient  Law.  The  lectures  were  delivered  in  the  beautiful  old  hall 
of  the  Middle  Temple,  — the  same  hall  where,  in-  1601-2,  Shake- 
speare's Twelfth  Night  was  performed. 

The  Ancient  Law  is  almost  the  first  book  in  our  language  in  which 
Jurisprudence  is  treated  from  a  strictly  scientific  point  of  view.  It  is 
almost  the  first  attempt  to  explain  the  development  of  legal  ideas 
according  to  the  doctrine  of  evolution.  The  book  is  composed  in  a 
very  simple  and  lucid  style,  so  that  it  is  interesting  not  merely  to  stu- 
dents of  legal  history,  but  to  scholars  generally  ;  it  has  been  very  much 
read,  both  in  England  and  in  foreign  countries;    and  it  has  brought 


HENRY   JAMES   SUMNER   MAINE.  357 

to  its  author  a  great  and  deserved  reputation.  In  1862,  almost  imme- 
diately after  the  publication  of  the  Ancient  Law,  Maine  was  appointed 
legal  member  of  the  Government  Council  in  India,  and  he  accepted 
the  appointment.  This  was  the  beginning  of  his  connection  with  the 
government  of  India,  —  a  connection  which  lasted  until  his  death. 
Maine  was  in  India  seven  years.  He  returned  to  England  in  1869. 
Two  years  later  he  was  created  Knight  Commander  of  the  Order  of 
the  Star  of  India  (K.  C.  S.  I.),  and  at  the  same  time  was  appointed 
a  member  of  the  Council  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India. 

Maine's  academic  work  was  laid  aside  during  his  absence  in  India, 
but  he  resumed  it  after  his  return  to  England.  In  1870  he  was  made 
Corpus  Professor  of  Jurisprudence  at  the  University  of  Oxford,  — 
the  professorship  being  created  especially  for  him.  It  was  at  Oxford 
that  he  composed  some  of  his  most  interesting  lectures.  They  were 
delivered  in  the  hall  of  Corpus  Christi  College,  to  large  audiences,  made 
up  mostly  of  graduates.  Maine  was  a  good  lecturer,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  his  lectures  were  always  "  chapters  of  books  read  aloud." 
The  presence  of  the  man  was  fine,  his  voice  and  manner  were  good,  and 
we  know  how  interesting  the  lectures  were  in  matter,  having  read 
the  books  in  which  they  were  afterwards  published ;  —  Village  Com- 
munities in  the  East  and  West  (1871);  Lectures  on  the  Early 
History  of  Institutions  (1875)  ;  and  Dissertations  on  Early  Law  and 
Custom  (1883). 

In  1875  Maine  gave  the  Rede  Lecture  at  Cambridge  on  the  Effect 
of  the  Study  of  India  on  Modern  European  Thought.  In  1878  he 
delivered  a  lecture  on  Modern  Theories  of  Succession  to  Property. 
He  was  a  frequent  contributor  of  articles  to  newspapers  and  magazines. 
Among  the  more  important  of  the  contributions  to  magazines  are  the 
Essays  on  Popular  Government,  which  appeared  first  in  the  Quarterly 
Review,  and  afterwards  (in  1885)  in  book  form.  Maine  held  his  pro- 
fessorship at  Oxford  until  1878,  when,  being  appointed  Head  Master  of 
Trinity  Hall  at  Cambridge,  he  returned  to  his  own  University.  Last 
year  he  received  at  Cambridge  the  Whewell  Professorship  of  Inter- 
national Law,  and  gave  one  course  of  lectures  on  this  subject.  His 
usefulness  in  Cambridge  was  not,  however,  limited  to  his  lecturing  and 
teaching  there.  His  personal  influence  over  his  College,  and  over  the 
whole  University,  was  good  in  every  way,  and  his  loss  will  be  deeply 
and  sadly  felt. 

In  1849,  just  before  he  was  called  to  the  bar,  Maine  married  his 
cousin,  a  daughter  of  George  Maine.  They  had  three  children,  two  of 
whom,  both  sons,  are  living. 


358  HENRY  JAMES  SUMNER  MAINE. 

Maine  was  never  a  strong  man.  As  a  youth  he  was  frequently  ill. 
His  stay  in  India  benefited  him  in  respect  to  his  health,  and  he  was 
stronger  after  his  return.  He  was  well  enough,  as  a  rule,  to  work 
moderately  hard,  and  to  perform  satisfactorily  the  duties  of  his  various 
appointments.  But  early  in  this  year,  1888,  he  felt  very  feeble  and 
nervous,  and  decided  to  go  to  the  South  of  France  for  a  rest.  On  the 
3d  day  of  February,  while  he  was  at  Cannes,  he  had  a  stroke  of 
apoplexy,  and  died  in  a  few  hours.  He  was  buried  at  Cannes  on 
the  8th. 

Sir  Henry  Maine  was  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  a  Foreign 
Associate  of  the  Institute  of  France,  being  chosen  in  the  place  of 
Emerson,  and  he  was  elected  Foreign  Honorary  Member  of  this 
Academy,  November  14,  1866,  in  place  of  Whewell. 

Having  reviewed  the  principal  events  of  Maine's  life,  we  must 
now  consider  his  life's  work,  its  character  and  its  value.  The  work 
distributes  itself  into  two  departments,  one  of  scholarship,  and  one  of 
statesmanship.  Maine  spent  as  much  as  half  of  his  life's  energy  in 
connection  with  the  government  of  India.  As  legal  member  of  the 
Government  Council,  an  office  previously  held  by  Macaulay  and  subse- 
quently by  Fitz  James  Stephen,  Maine  drafted  many  important  stat- 
utes. Among  others,  the  Successions  Act  and  the  Marriage  Act  of 
1865;  the  Companies  Act  of  1866;  the  General  Clauses  Act  of  1868; 
and  the  Divorce  Act  of  1869.  These  statutes,  particularly  the  Suc- 
cessions Act,  are  described  as  models  of  comprehensive  thought  and 
direct  expression.  No  one,  however,  not  an  expert  in  Indian  affairs 
can  speak  with  authority  regarding  them.  Nor  is  it  possible  for  us  to 
estimate  the  value  of  Maine's  work  as  adviser  of  the  government  in  its 
councils,  commissions,  and  committees.  We  can  only  record  what  we 
have  heard  from  others  who  were  associated  with  him.  They  speak  of 
him  as  a  man  of  great  good  sense  and  wisdom,  a  man  who  kept  his 
temper  under  all  circumstances,  and  a  most  pleasant  man  to  be  asso- 
ciated with. 

We  hear  of  certain  complaints  of  office  clerks,  who  say  that  Maine 
was  very  unwilling  to  do  routine  work  and  shirked  it  when  he  could. 
It  is  well  that  he  did  so.  A  man  of  Maine's  mental  power  and  ca- 
pacity of  understanding  ought  not  to  waste  his  energies  in  routine 
work,  which  is  mostly  thoughtless  work,  when  there  are  so  many 
people  everywhere  who  are  especially  fitted  for  it.  We  must  remem- 
ber that  Maine  was  not  a  strong  man,  physically ;  he  had  to  save  his 
strength  as  much  as  possible.  Perhaps  he  was  not  a  hard  worker,  in 
the  ordinary  sense  of  the  phrase ;  but  he  was  certainly  a  hard  thinker. 


HENRY   JAMES    SUMNER   MAINE.  359 

Maine  was  naturally  a  very  quiet  man  ;  he  disliked  publicity  ;  he 
liked  to  do  his  work,  whatever  it  was,  in  a  private  way.  He  avoided 
public  life  and  public  speaking.  When  at  one  time  it  was  proposed 
that  he  should  go  into  Parliament,  as  representative  of  Cambridge,  he 
declined ;  and  when  Mr.  Gladstone  offered  him  the  office  of  Chief 
Clerk  of  the  House  of  Commons,  after  the  resignation  of  Sir  Erskine 
May,  he  declined  again.  He  was  willing  to  serve  the  public,  and  did 
so  in  connection  with  the  government  of  India,  and  in  all  the  work  of 
his  life,  indeed ;  but  his  service  was  done  very  quietly  and  unostenta- 
tiously. Maine  was  in  temper  cautious,  not  to  say  timid,  and  very 
conservative.  He  was  always  ready  and  willing  to  discuss  a  state  of 
affairs,  and  he  was  willing  to  suggest  measures  of  reform  and  change; 
but  he  did  not  like  to  commit  himself  even  to  the  measures  he  sug- 
gested, and  objected  to  taking  any  leadership  in  connection  with  them. 
Maine  liked  to  hold  his  judgment  free :  he  would  state  an  opinion 
and  state  it  distinctly;  then  he  would  qualify  it  with  an  if  or  &  per- 
haps. This  characteristic  is  plainly  exhibited  in  all  his  writings.  It  is 
very  irritating  to  those  who  like  to  engage  in  personal  controversies. 
They  take  up  Maine's  opinions,  and  argue  against  them,  as  his  opinions. 
Then  he  says  that  they  were  rather  suggestions  than  opinions ;  and 
that  he  never  invited,  nor  proposed  to  enter  into,  any  controversies 
regarding  them.  Maine  disliked  personal  controversies,  and  avoided 
them  as  much  as  possible.  We  have  seen  a  letter  he  wrote  some 
years  ago,  in  which  he  objects  to  the  method  of  a  certain  teacher  of 
history,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  encouraging  his  pupils  to  enter  into 
controversies.  Maine  objected  to  anything  like  enthusiasm  or  zeal  in 
the  pursuit  of  scientific  truths.  He  himself  worked  in  a  very  quiet, 
cautious,  conservative  spirit,  and  wished  to  have  others  work  in  the 
same  spirit.  He  held  to  the  principle,  that  it  is  not  men  we  have  to 
qnarrel  with  in  this  world,  but  false  and  injurious  ideas,  which  the  very 
best  of  men  may  hold  with  the  best  of  motives.  We  gather  another 
principle  out  of  Maine's  life,  —  that  we  are  responsible,  not  for  other 
people's  ideas,  but  for  our  own.  It  is  our  own  ideas  which  we  must 
look  after  and  correct  and  perfect,  not  those  of  other  people.  Maine 
was  not  a  man  to  undertake  or  to  carry  out  reforms.  The  successful 
reformer  must  be  sure  of  his  views,  confident  of  his  cause,  and  he  must 
be  eager  to  defend  his  cause  against  every  form  of  opposition,  and 
zealous  in  getting  other  men  to  take  it  up  and  help  defend  it.  But 
Maine  longed  not  so  much  to  establish  his  views  as  to  correct  them. 
He  was  always  expecting  out  of  one  idea  to  get  another  and  better  one. 
So  he  kept  his  mind,  not  in  the  state  of  conclusion,  but  in  a  state  of 


360  HENRY   JAMES   SUMNER   MAINE. 

transition  from  one  idea  to  another.  Maine's  disposition  and  temper 
of  mind  were  essentially  scientific  and  scholarly.  Maine's  work  as  a 
statesman  was  the  work  of  a  scholar  and  literary  artist  in  the  field  of 
statesmanship.  He  drafted  statutes,  he  formulated  opinions  on  political 
questions,  and  expressed  them  finely,  but  his  motive  was,  in  all  this 
work,  scientific  and  artistic,  not  practical. 

It  is  as  a  scientific  man  and  as  a  man  of  letters  that  Maine  will  be 
remembered,  not  as  a  statesman.  He  will  not  be  remembered  as  the 
man  who  drafted  certain  statutes  and  gave  his  advice  in  connection 
with  the  government  of  India,  but  as  the  author  of  the  "  Ancient  Law." 
The  Ancient  Law  is  certaiuly  one  of  the  great  books  of  this  century, 
remarkable  in  its  contents  and  in  its  consequences.  The  book  was 
published  in  1861,  only  fifteen  months  after  the  publication  of  Darwin's 
Origin  of  Species.  There  is  an  interesting  and  significant  connection 
between  the  two  books.  We  have  in  Darwin's  work  the  application  of 
the  doctrine  of  evolution  to  the  history  of  organic  life.  We  have  in 
Maine's  work  the  application  of  the  same  doctrine  to  our  intellectual 
life  in  some  of  its  chief  phases  or  aspects.  A  new  purpose  and  a  new 
method  of  study  were  given  to  students  in  the  field  of  custom,  law,  and 
politics.  The  purpose  was  to  explain  existing  social,  legal,  and  politi- 
cal ideas  according  to  a  theory  of  evolution,  development,  diversification, 
or  differentiation.  The  new  method  of  study  by  which  it  was  proposed 
to  discover  the  natural  order  and  succession  or  generation  of  social, 
legal,  and  political  ideas  was  that  which  Darwin  had  employed  to  dis- 
cover the  order  in  which  organic  forms  in  plant  and  animal  life  have 
been  evolved.  It  was  the  comparative  method  of  the  naturalist.  The 
method  is  described  by  Maine  as  follows.  "  We  take,"  he  says,  "  a  num- 
ber of  contemporary  facts,  ideas,  and  customs,  and  we  infer  the  past 
form  of  those  facts,  ideas,  and  customs,  not  only  from  historical  records 
of  that  past  form,  but  from  examples  of  it  which  have  not  yet  died  out 
of  the  world  and  are  still  to  be  found  in  it.  .  .  .  Direct  observation 
comes  thus  to  the  aid  of  historical  inquiry,  and  historical  inquiry  to 
the  help  of  direct  observation." 

Of  course  the  question  comes  up  whether  this  method  is  applicable 
to  the  phenomena  of  mind,  whether  we  can  hope  to  explain  by  it  the 
developments  of  the  human  intelligence,  and  find  out  what  were  the 
primitive,  elementary  thoughts  and  practices  of  mankind.  Our  ideas 
are  very  largely  the  result  of  external  conditions  and  circumstances. 
They  are  composed  out  of  experiences,  and  experiences  differ.  It 
might  be  inferred  from  this  that  the  comparative  method  would  be  in- 
applicable to  the  field  of  intellectual  life.     We  might  not  expect  to  dis- 


HENRY   JAMES   SUMNER  MAINE.  861 

cover  any  regular  order  in  the  development  of  ideas.  We  must  not 
forget,  however,  that  among  the  external  conditions  and  circumstances 
according  to  which  our  ideas  are  formed  are  to  be  enumerated  all  the 
traditions,  practices,  and  works  of  our  forefathers,  which  in  one  way  or 
another  express  their  ideas.  So  it  happens  that  the  thoughts  of  one 
generation  of  men  are  very  largely  determined  by  those  of  preceding 
generations ;  and  we  discover  in  the  study  of  historical  records  that 
there  has  been  in  every  branch  of  the  human  race  a  very  regular  order 
in  the  development  and  diversification  of  ideas,  corresponding  remark- 
ably well  with  the  development  and  diversification  of  physical  charac- 
teristics among  plants  and  animals.  When,  therefore,  we  know  from 
similarity  of  physical  characteristics  that  two  races  were  once  associated 
in  a  common  origin,  we  infer  by  a  very  sure  hypothesis  that  they  started 
in  their  independent  existence  with  certain  common  ideas  and  common 
practices,  and  the  question  arises,  What  were  these  ideas  and  practices  ? 
The  comparative  method  is  the  method  which  we  employ  in  trying  to 
answer  the  question.  We  must,  however,  in  order  to  reach  any  certain 
results  by  means  of  the  comparative  method,  have  clear,  unquestionable 
early  records,  on  the  one  hand,  and  well  understood  ideas  and  practices 
on  the  other,  and  an  unmistakable  coincidence  between  them.  Early 
records  are  apt  to  be  few  and  doubtful  in  character,  and  it  is  very  diffi- 
cult, often  impossible,  for  a  civilized  man  to  understand  the  ideas  and 
practices  of  savages  and  barbarians ;  so  it  is  very  improbable  that  we 
shall  reach  any  trustworthy  conclusions  in  regard  to  the  beginnings  of 
intellectual  life  and  the  origin  of  human  society.  This  was  clearly 
Maine's  idea.  He  says  :  "  It  was  no  part  of  my  object  to  determine 
the  absolute  origin  of  human  society.  I  have  written  few  pages 
which  have  any  bearing  on  the  subject,  and  I  must  confess  a  certain 
distaste  for  inquiries  which,  when  I  attempt  to  push  them  far,  have 
always  landed  me  in  mud-banks  and  fog."  We  may  not  be  able,  per- 
haps, to  solve  the  problems  of  primitive  life  by  the  comparative  method, 
but  there  are  innumerable  very  interesting  developments  of  the  human 
intelligence  which  we  can  make  out  clearly.  Maine  has  described  some 
of  these  developments  in  a  most  striking  and  interesting  way,  in  his 
Ancient  Law,  and  in  the  books  which  were  published  during  the  period 
of  his  Oxford  Professorship,  —  Village  Communities,  The  Early  His- 
tory of  Institutions,  and  Early  Law  and  Custom. 

Some  of  Maine's  theories  have  met  with  adverse  criticism.  His 
theory  that  the  patriarchal  idea  is  a  primitive  idea  has  been  opposed  by 
a  number  of  well  known  and  able  writers,  who  maintain  that  the  primi- 
tive social  unit  was  not  the  family  under  the  headship  of  the  father,  but 


362  HENRY    JAMES    SUMNER   MAINE. 

the  horde,  —  "a  company  of  men  and  women  in  which  the  relations  of 
the  sexes  were  wholly  unregulated  at  first,  but  passed  through  various 
stages  of  limitation  or  restriction  until  the  family,  patriarchal  or  other, 
was  reached.''     Maine  did  not,  I  think,  maintain  that  the  patriarchal 
idea  was  the  only  idea  governing  the  organization  of  primitive  society, 
but  he  maintained  that  it  was  one  of  the  governing  ideas,  and  one  of  the 
most  important.     It  was  not  an  idea  reached,  but  an  idea  started  with. 
His  arguments  upon  this  theme  are  to  be  found  in  his  Early  Law  and 
Custom.     Another  theory  whicli  has  met  with  adverse  criticism  is  the 
theory  that  the  Russian   mi?;  with  its  periodic  redistributions  of  land 
in  equal   lots,  gives   us  an   idea  of  the   primitive  village   community. 
Maine's  theory  is  that  private  property  in  land  has  arisen  in  consequence 
of  the  "disentanglement  of  individual  from  collective  rights";  that  the 
earliest  form  of  landed  property  is  found  in  a  kind  of  communistic  part- 
nership.    The  theory  which  is  opposed  to  this  one  is,  that  the  idea  of 
personal  and  private  ownership  is  at  least  as  ancient  as  the  idea  of 
collective  ownership.     It  is  suggested  that  a  communistic  partnership 
among  kinsmen  means  simply  that  an  inheritance,  once  the  holding  of 
an  individual,  is  not  yet  divided.     As  for  the  Russian  mir,  it  leads  us 
neither  to  one  theory  nor  to  the  other.     Since  Maine  first  wrote  about 
it,  it  has  been  shown  to  be  in  its  present  form  a  comparatively  modern 
institution.     The  redistributions  of  the  land  into  equal  lots  appear  to  be 
the  result  of  a  system  of  equal  (per  capita)  taxation.     The  practice 
cannot  be  traced  back  more  than  two  or  three  hundred  years.     The 
village  community  of  India,  in  which  the  land  is  a  partly  divided,  partly 
undivided  inheritance,  may  be  regarded  as  the  earlier  type  of  village. 
Another  of  Maine's  theories  which  may  be  objected  to  is  the  theory 
that  "  the  typical  manor  arose  out  of  the  village  community."     It  has 
been  maintained,  against  this  view,  that  the  two  institutions,  the  manor 
and  the  village  community,  arose  side  by  side,  and  then  one  or  the  other 
became  dominant.     It  is  as  easy  for  the  manor  to  become  a  village 
community  as  for  the  village  community  to  become  a  manor.     When 
the  manorial  estate  is  divisible  among  the  heirs,  it  tends  to  become  a 
village  community.     When  the  chieftainship  over  a  village  community 
becomes  hereditary,  but  is  indivisible,  the  village  community  tends  to 
become  a  manor. 

In  view  of  all  these  theories  and  counter  theories,  and  of  the  fact 
that  a  great  deal  can  be  said  in  support  of  every  one  of  them,  on  both 
sides,  we  cannot  but  feel  that  the  object  of  historical  researches  is  not 
so  much  to  find  out  the  order  in  which  ideas  have  occurred  to  mankind, 
and  the  chronological  sequence  of  human  institutions,  as  it  is  to  find 


HENRY    JAMES    SUMNER    MAINE.  363 

out,  first,  the  consequeuces  of  certain  ideas,  what  institutions  they  give 
rise  to,  and,  secondly,  the  consequences  of  certain  institutions,  what 
ideas  they  suggest. 

The  works  and  institutions  of  a  people  are  expressive  of  its  ideas. 
They  are  the  monuments  and  records  of  its  intellectual  life.  At  the 
same  time,  the  ideas  of  a  people  are  determined  almost  wholly  by  its 
works  completed  and  institutions  established.  Ideas  produce  institu- 
tions, and  institutions  produce  ideas.  So  the  question  for  the  historian 
and  philosopher  is  what  ideas  have  produced  the  best  institutions,  and 
what  institutions  have  produced  the  best  ideas ;  for  we  want  to  cultivate 
the  ideas  which  have  had  the  best  issues,  and  we  want  to  establish  the 
institutions  which  give  us  the  best  ideas. 

Perhaps  Maine  had  some  such  thoughts  as  these  in  his  mind  when 
he  wrote  his  Essays  on  Popular  Government.  He  takes  up  in  these 
essays  the  idea  of  popular  government,  the  idea  of  democracy,  and  he 
describes  its  growth  and  the  institutions  to  which  it  has  given  rise. 
When  the  book  was  published,  first  in  the  Quarterly  Review  and 
afterwards  in  book  form,  it  was  described  as  "  a  rattling  Tory  pamphlet 
under  the  disguise  of  philosophy."  Mr.  John  Morley  is,  I  believe, 
responsible  for  the  epigram.  It  is  amusing,  but  inapplicable.  The 
book  is  a  compendium  of  Maine's  political  philosophy,  written,  as  all 
his  books  were,  without  any  practical  motive  or  purpose,  and  with  per- 
fect sincerity.  Maine  takes  an  unfavorable  view  of  popular  government. 
He  surveys  its  history,  and  observes  that  it  is  not  an  energetic  form  of 
government,  not  efficient,  not  economical,  not  very  successful.  He  con- 
cludes that  a  democratic  assembly  is  incapable  of  governing  a  great 
nation  as  it  should  be  governed.  He  says  that  the  most  successful  form 
of  government  has  been,  not  that  of  the  many,  but  that  of  the  few. 
This  is  all  very  true.  Democracy  considered  simply  as  a  means  of 
government  is  not  very  active,  efficient,  or  economical.  It  is  spend- 
thrift both  of  mental  and  of  physical  forces.  Nor  has  it  been  in  the 
experience  of  the  past  very  successful  as  a  means  of  government.  But 
we  must  not  consider  democracy  as  a  means  of  government  simply.  It 
is  much  more  than  that.  It  must  be  regarded  as  an  educational  insti- 
tution.  Here  lies  its  highest  utility  and  surest  success.  Democracy 
is  the  most  comprehensive  educational  institution  that  has  ever  been 
established. 

Taking  Maine's  point  of  view,  and  considering  democracy  merely  as 
a  means  of  governing  states  and  nations,  we  may,  reasonably  enough, 
agree  with  him.  But  we  need  not  take  his  point  of  view.  Instead  of 
considering  merely  the  institutions  to  which  the  idea  of  democracy  has 


364  HENRY   JAMES   SUMNER   MAINE. 

given  rise,  we  may  consider  the  ideas  which  have  arisen  in  consequence 
of  the  establishment  of  democratic  institutions.  What  has  been  the 
effect  of  these  institutions  upon  the  human  mind  ?  Have  they  not 
had  a  great  and  noble  effect  ?  Can  the  institutions  of  monarchy  and 
oligarchy  show  anything  like  it?  Maine's  view  of  popular  government 
seems  to  us  a  narrow  and  very  unsatisfactory  one.  It  is  in  the  field  of 
historical  inquiry  and  theory  that  we  follow  Maine  with  most  profit. 
It  is  in  this  field  that  he  did  his  best  work,  —  discovering  and  describing 
historical  developments,  and  making  them  interesting  to  pupils  and 
readers.  We  see  in  Maine  almost  the  ideal  teacher.  There  are  two 
kinds  of  teachers,  —  those  who  give  us  knowledge,  and  those  who  give 
us  the  love  of  knowledge.  These  last  are  the  best  teachers,  and  Maine 
is  one  of  them.  He  was  not  merely  an  investigator,  a  collector  of 
facts  and  statistics.  He  was  also  an  artist.  He  was  able  to  compose 
the  facts  and  statistics  which  he  gathered  together  into  interesting 
ideas.  Here  lies  the  secret  of  his  great  reputation  and  success.  Other 
men  have  studied  the  records  and  survivals  of  the  past  as  diligently  as 
he ;  some  men  have  surpassed  him  as  investigators.  He  was  sometimes 
a  little  careless  in  accepting  statistics  without  verifying  them,  without 
tracing  them  to  their  original  sources,  and  making  sure  of  them.  He 
was  not  so  patiently  laborious  in  the  examination  and  criticism  of  his- 
torical records  as  some  of  his  contemporaries ;  but  he  surpassed  them 
all  in  the  art  of  composing  his  materials  into  interesting  and  significant 
ideas.  He  was  a  man  of  imagination,  —  of  comprehensive  imagination. 
More  than  that,  he  was  discriminating  in  regard  to  the  materials  out  of 
which  he  composed  his  ideas.  Nothing  is  easier  than  the  composition 
of  ideas  out  of  facts,  when  one  has  imagination.  Wherever  there  is 
imagination,  there  is  a  plentiful  supply  of  ideas  ;  but  it  does  not  follow 
that  the  ideas  are  in  any  high  degree  significant  or  valuable.  The 
value  of  an  idea  depends  upon  the  importance  of  the  facts  or  statistics 
which  it  comprehends.  No  one  has  ever  understood  this  better  than 
Maine.  "  All  generalization,"  he  says,  "  is  the  product  of  abstraction  ; 
all  abstraction  consists  in  dropping  out  of  sight  a  certain  number  of 
particular  facts,  and  constructing  a  formula  which  will  embrace  the 
remainder ;  and  the  comparative  value  of  general  propositions  turns 
entirely  on  the  relative  importance  of  the  particular  facts  selected,  and 
of  the  particular  facts  rejected.  The  modern  facility  of  generalization," 
he  adds,  "  is  obtained  by  a  curious  precipitation  and  carelessness  in  this 
selection  and  rejection,  which,  when  properly  carried  out,  is  the  only 
difficult  part  of  the  entire  process.  General  formulas  which  can  be 
seen  on  examination  to  have  been  arrived  at  by  attending  only  to  par- 


HUGH   ANDREW   JOHNSTONE   MUNRO.  365 

ticulars,  few,  trivial,  or  irrelevant,  are  turned  out  in  as  much  profusion 
as  if  they  dropped  from  an  intellectual  machine."  Maine  shows  not 
only  a  great  power  of  imagination,  but  very  unusual  discrimination  in 
regard  to  the  materials  he  allows  his  imagination  to  work  upon.  The 
result  is,  that  his  ideas,  and  the  writings  in  which  they  are  so  well 
expressed,  have  a  permanent  interest  and  value. 

HUGH  ANDREW   JOHNSTONE   MUNRO. 

An  inadvertence  has  caused  the  retention  on  our  honorary  roll  of 
the  above  name,  although  in  point  of  fact  its  bearer  died  at  Rome 
on  the  30th  of  March,  1885.  At  the  time  of  his  decease  he  ranked  as 
the  first  Latin  scholar  in  the  British  Empire,  and  was  recognized  as 
the  compeer  of  the  best  classical  scholars  in  the  world. 

Hugh  Andrew  Johnstone  Munro  was  born  at  Elgin,  Scotland,  in 
1819.  His  education  as  a  boy  was  mainly  conducted  at  Shrewsbury 
School,  under  Dr.  Benjamin  Hall  Kennedy  as  Head  Master.  Shrews- 
bury School  is  not  so  famous  as  Winchester  and  Eton,  as  Westminster 
or  Harrow ;  and  certainly  it  has  to  Americans  none  of  the  somewhat 
factitious  renown  which  they  have  learned  to  attach  to  Rugby.  But 
at  the  English  Universities,  and  among  cultivated  Englishmen  gen- 
erally, Shrewsbury  has  a  fame  second  to  no  school  for  producing  first- 
rate  scholars ;  and  it  would  be  hard  to  convince  any  pupil  of  Dr. 
Kennedy's  that  he  had  ever  had  his  superior  among  the  schoolmasters 
of  England. 

The  taste  and  practice  of  the  Shrewsbury  scholars  ran  always  in  the 
direction  of  rigid  accuracy  rather  than  varied  reading.  Munro  pre- 
served the  school  traditions  as  to  the  first ;  but  he  bettered  the  instruc- 
tion as  to  the  second.     Few  scholars  have  been  broader. 

He  entered  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  in  1838  ;  was  chosen  Craven 
University  Scholar  in  1841;  was  "Senior  Optime"  (second  class)  in 
the  Mathematical  Tripos  of  1842,  and  Second  Classic  and  First  Chan- 
cellor's Medallist  in  the  same  year.  His  successful  competitor  for  the 
highest  classical  honors  was  the  Hon.  George  Denman,  now  Mr.  Justice 
Denman,  a  son  of  Queen  Caroline's  defender,  Lord  Chief  Justice  Den- 
man. Munro  became  a  Fellow  in  1843 ;  and  as  he  never  married,  and 
took  orders  in  the  Church  of  England,  he  retained  his  fellowship  till 
his  death. 

Munro  was  in  due  time  chosen  on  the  staff  of  instruction  in  his 
college,  and  gave  early  proof  of  his  powers  as  a  critic  by  a  paper  be- 
fore the  Cambridge  Philosophical  Society,  in  which  he  contested  Dr. 


366  HUGH   ANDREW   JOHNSTONE   MUNRO. 

Whewell's  views  on  some  passages  of  Aristotle.  The  Master  of  Trinity 
occupied  at  that  time  a  very  distinguished  position,  and  it  was  not  well 
for  any  one  to  encounter  him  who  was  not  sure  of  his  ground.  But 
Munro  had  pre-eminently  the  Cambridge  characteristic,  that  he  would 
not  publish  except  when  he  did  feel  sure  of  his  ground ;  and,  on  this 
first  appearance,  even  those  who  disputed  his  conclusions  could  not 
question  his  perfect  familiarity  with  his  matter. 

In  1854  was  started  the  "  Cambridge  Journal  of  Classical  and  Sacred 
Philology,"  which  ran  through  four  volumes,  the  last  appearing  near 
the  beginning  of  1860.  Munro  was  from  the  first  a  most  important 
contributor  to  its  pages ;  and  when,  after  an  intermission  of  nine  years,  it 
was  resumed  under  the  name  of  the  "  Journal  of  Philology,"  he  renewed 
his  articles,  and  continued  to  write  for  it  at  intervals  until  his  death. 

These  articles  took  a  sufficiently  varied  range  in  classical  criticism, 
both  textual,  philosophical,  and  literary ;  and  they  exhibit  throughout 
one  of  Munro's  marked  traits,  that  he  was  a  student  of  literature  in 
general.  He  was  as  familiar  with  Spenser,  with  Dante,  and  with 
Goethe,  and  as  thoroughly  provided  with  all  the  linguistic,  historical, 
and  aesthetic  tools  needed  for  their  comprehension,  as  with  Euripides 
and  Catullus ;  and  while  his  studies  fell  into  the  line  of  poetry  rather 
than  prose,  no  one  who  ever  discussed  a  philosophical  problem  with 
him  could  doubt  that  the  toughest  reasoning  was  as  handy  to  him  as 
the  tenderest  melody.  Shrewsbury,  like  the  other  great  English  schools, 
holds  closely  to  the  tradition  that  the  practice  of  writing  Greek  and  Latin 
verse  is  the  best  method  for  teaching  accurately  the  form  and  body  of 
those  languages;  and  the  volume  of  such  compositions  by  her  alumni, 
entitled  Sabrince  Corolla,  contains  many  admirable  pieces  by  Munro. 

Among  his  earliest  contributions  to  the  above-named  periodicals  was 
an  article  "  On  some  Passages  in  Lucretius."  The  recent  editions 
of  Lachmann  and  Bernays  had  directed  the  attention  of  scholars  all 
over  the  world  to  this  most  remarkable  writer,  of  whom  English 
scholars  could  not  exactly  be  said  to  be  ignorant ;  but  they  knew 
him  chiefly  from  the  uncouth  volumes  of  Wakefield.  An  entire  revo- 
lution in  the  criticism  of  the  text  had  been  hinted  at  by  Madvig,  and 
fairly  created  by  Lachmann ;  and  many  were  disposed  —  as  some  are 
disposed  even  now  —  to  accept  the  edition  of  the  latter  as  a  practical 
finality.  Munro,  in  his  first  and  subsequent  articles,  paid  all  possible 
honor  to  the  learning,  the  diligence,  and  the  intelligence  of  the  great 
Prussian  ;  but  he  showed  plainly  that  his  recension  of  the  text  was 
far  from  a  final  one ;  that  in  the  interpretation  of  the  poet  Lachmann 
had  done  comparatively  little,  and  that  little  very  seriously  in  need  of 


HUGH    ANDREW   JOHNSTONE   MUNRO.  36T 

revision  ;  —  iu  plain  English,  that  a  new  edition  of  Lucretius  was  im- 
peratively needed  for  the  matter,  if  not  for  the  text.  Iu  18(30  he  issued 
the  latter  in  a  very  handy  form,  introducing  not  a  few  important  cor- 
rections;  and  in  1864  appeared  his  first  real  edition, — a  revised  text, 
an  elaborate  commentary,  and  an  English  prose  version.  A  second  edi- 
tion, in  a  somewhat  differeut  form,  and  with  many  important  correc- 
tions and  additions,  appeared  in  1866  ;  a  third,  revised  with  still  more 
devoted  care,  was  issued  in  1873  ;  and  a  fourth,  with  some  slight  ad- 
ditions to  the  commentary,  has  appeared  since  his  death,  in  1886,  under 
the  care  of  Mr.  J.  D.  Duff. 

In  1867  Munro  issued  from  a  manuscript  in  the  Cambridge  Uni- 
versity Library  an  edition  of  the  strange  philosophical  poem  entitled 
jjEtna.  In  1868  he  published,  in  connection  with  his  colleague,  the 
Rev.  C.  W.  King,  a  very  admirable  text  of  Horace,  issued  in  magnifi- 
cent form,  and  strikingly  illustrated,  through  the  care  of  his  collabora- 
tor, with  engravings  from  ancient  gems,  in  which  Mr.  King  was  an 
unrivalled  expert.  In  1871,  Munro  brought  out  a  valuable  tract  on 
the  newly-proposed  Latin  pronunciation  ;  and  in  1878,  he  collected  a 
number  of  his  papers  in  the  Journal  of  Philology  into  a  volume  of 
"  Criticisms  and  Elucidations  of  Catullus,"  containing  some  of  his  most 
striking  views.  In  1869  he  was  appointed  to  the  newly  constituted 
chair  of  Latin,  which  had  been  founded  as  a  memorial  of  his  master, 
Kennedy.  But  university  lecturing  was  not  to  his  taste,  and  he 
resigned  the  professorship  in  two  years. 

Munro's  death  occurred,  as  has  been  said,  in  Rome  ;  he  had  gone 
in  search  of  health  to  Italy  in  the  spring  of  1885,  which  proved  un- 
happily inclement.  Italy  was  known  ground  to  him ;  he  had  collated 
the  great  manuscripts  of  Lucretius  at  Florence  and  Rome  in  1851, 
and  now  in  his  closing  days  he  enjoyed  exploring  the  excavations  of 
antiquities  in  the  imperial  city ;  but  the  murderous  fever,  of  which  no 
one  who  has  not  felt  it  knows  the  horrors,  carried  him  off  on  the  30th 
of  March.  He  lies  buried  near  Keats  and  Shelley,  in  the  famous 
Protestant  cemetery  close  to  the  Pyramid  of  Cestius. 

Munro  was  a  man  of  short,  stout  frame,  with  a  true  North  Country 
expression,  and  a  manner  curiously  compounded  of  shyness  and  vi- 
vacity. His  intimate  friends  were  few,  but  most  devotedly  attached  to 
him.  His  habits  and  character  were  those  of  the  scholastic  hermit,  and 
it  took  a  little  courage  to  penetrate  into  his  book-lined  cell,  which  was 
that  of  a  truly  fastidious  scholar.  He  did  not  talk  till  quite  sure  of 
his  company.  But  to  those  who  might  and  did  press  within  the  veil, 
nothing  could  surpass  the  impression  made  by  the  immense  extent  of 


868  HUGH    ANDREW   JOHNSTONE   MUNRO. 

his  learning,  the  firm  grasp  which  he  held  on  it,  and  the  peculiar  sub- 
tlety of  his  penetration,  reminding  one  of  Goldsmith's  description  of 
Burke,  "  winding  into  the  heart  of  a  subject  like  a  serpent."  He  would 
have  been  terrible  to  encounter  as  an  antagonist,  were  it  not  for  a 
singularly  courteous  suavity  which  disarmed  all  resentment.  There 
are  passages  in  his  works  which,  as  we  read  them,  savor  of  a  pretty 
positive  dogmatism ;  but  one  who  knew  the  author  can  well  conceive 
that  from  his  lips  they  would  have  sounded  even  gentle.  To  a  still 
more  intimate  circle,  his  counsel,  his  heart,  and,  if  necessary,  his  purse, 
were  open  ;  and,  as  he  never  hesitated  to  lay  before  the  learned  world 
whatever  he  felt  could  be  understood  in  its  real  meaning,  so  we  are  as- 
sured by  those  who  knew  him  best  that  nothing  in  his  great  nature  was 
not  freely  given  where  it  would  be  valued. 

He  was  unquestionably  a  very  great  scholar.  He  was  a  master  in 
his  honored  art,  —  the  art  of  criticising  and  expounding  the  treasures 
of  the  two  great  languages  of  the  Mediterranean  nations  ;  the  greatest 
Latin  scholar  of  the  century  in  England,  and  second  to  none  of  her  clas- 
sical giants  since  Porson  ;  like  him,  a  worthy  descendant  of  Bentley,  the 
great  Master  of  what  even  the  dry  pages  of  the  "  Cambridge  Calendar  " 
cannot  help  calling  a  "noble  and  magnificent  college." 

Munro's  fame  will  rest  on  his  Lucretius,  a  monumental  work ;  unlike 
many  monuments,  not  a  mere  tombstone,  but  the  perpetuator  of  a  life  as 
lively  as  that  which  breathes  from  Michael  Angelo's  statue  of  Lorenzo. 
Lucretius  is  a  very  great  author,  well  deserving  an  editor  of  consum- 
mate ability.  Scholars  of  the  very  highest  erudition  and  taste,  Marul- 
lus,  Lambinus,  Isaac  Vossius,  Gassendi,  Bentley,  Madvig,  and  Lachmann, 
have  all  stamped  on  his  criticism  and  interpretation  the  impress  of  their 
peculiar  genius.  It  is  unfortunate  that,  in  the  intervals  of  their  labors, 
many  less  worthy  handled  him  ;  —  Pius  and  Gifanius,  Nardi  and  Haver- 
camp,  Wakefield  and  Forbiger,  besides  such  moderate  contributors  to 
his  elucidation  as  Le  Febvre  and  Creech.  To  all  this  line  of  editors  —  a 
line  beginning,  says  tradition,  with  no  less  a  person  than  Cicero  himself 
—  Munro  contributed  a  comprehensive  erudition,  a  brilliant  acuteness, 
an  unwearied  patience,  which  the  greatest  of  them  might  envy.  He 
added  also  a  candor  which  recognized  worth  everywhere,  and  would 
submit  over  and  over  again  his  most  cherished  views  to  every  test  in 
order  to  arrive  at  the  real  truth,  sacrificing  them,  if  need  be,  without 
a  murmur.  A  peculiar  fastidious  delicacy,  the  direct  result  of  that 
practice  in  classical  verse  composition  which  German  and  American 
scholarship  rejects  to  its  irreparable  loss,  gave  him  a  discriminating 
tact  as  to  text  and  interpretation  which  Lachmann  at  the  summit  of  his 


HUGH   ANDREW   JOHNSTONE   MUNRO.  369 

powers  never  knew.  He  possessed  one  quality  coming  directly  to  him 
from  the  matchless  Bentley,  the  power  of  making  his  notes  interesting. 
His  Lucretius  is  a  book  that  one  enjoys  reading.  His  conspectus  of 
the  manuscripts  and  editions,  though  avowedly  a  recasting  of  Lach- 
mann's  preface,  is  as  charming  an  improvement  over  the  Prussian's 
austere  Latin  as  Livy's  versions  over  Polybius.  If  one  wished  to 
lead  the  ordinary  Latin  student,  filled  with  a  schoolboy's  knowledge 
of  Virgil,  Coesar,  and  Cicero,  and  a  sophomore's  taste  of  Horace, 
Livy,  Tacitus,  and  Terence,  into  a  real  love  and  thirst  for  true  scholar- 
ship, the  wisest  course  would  be  to  set  him  down  to  Munro's  two 
prefaces. 

It  must  be  allowed  that  Munro's  intense  study  and  acuteness  some- 
times deceived  him  ;  he  would  occasionally  work  so  long  and  thought- 
fully over  a  passage,  that,  like  Dante,  he  got  past  the  point  of  attraction, 
and,  on  the  other  side  of  the  centre,  saw  the  object  with  feet  reversed, 
actually  declaring  a  view  unmistakable  which  to  other  men  was  simply 
an  ingenious  impossibility. 

To  the  full  he  appreciated,  he  comprehended,  he  absorbed,  his  author. 
The  antique  purity  of  the  diction  of  Lucretius,  the  stern  melody  of  his 
verse,  the  vivid  fertility  of  his  imagination,  the  keen  sweep  of  his  ob- 
servation, the  close  texture  of  his  reasoning,  the  passionate  force  of  his 
convictions,  the  undaunted  loftiness  of  his  aim,  appealed  to  Munro,  as 
they  had  to  the  greatest  scholars  before  him,  —  to  Scaliger  and  to 
Goethe,  —  with  irresistible  power.  Even  those  of  us  who  cannot  sur- 
render our  love  for  the  richer  harmony,  the  more  individual  humanity, 
the  more  confiding  faith,  the  more  historical  imagery  of  Virgil,  will 
feel  our  admiration  for  that  poet  who  was  Virgil's  immediate  master, 
scarcely  less  than  was  Homer,  deepened,  strengthened,  and  widened  by 
the  work  of  his  last  —  and  why  not  his  best  ?  —  editor. 

This  notice  may  seem  too  long ;  but  it  could  not  be  shortened. 
That  line  of  study  which  Munro  made  his  own  has  to  struggle  in  this 
country  against  the  claims  of  what  are  considered  more  truly  the  arts 
of  progress.  When,  then,  a  man,  whose  mind  was  fully  capable  of 
winning  brilliant  triumphs  as  an  explorer  in  the  realms  of  science  or 
philosophy  or  history,  devotes  himself  to  criticism  and  interpretation 
so  perfectly  that  all  hi3  work  sparkles  with  the  lustre  of  genius,  it 
becomes  the  votaries  of  every  science  to  admit  in  their  journals  an 
unstinted  tribute  to  their  brother. 

"  Carmina  quin  etiam  divini  pectoris  ejus 
Vociferantur  et  exponunt  praeclara  reperta 
Ut  vix  humana  videatur  stirpe  creatus." 
vol  xxiii.  (k.  s.  xv.)  24 


370  GUSTAV    EOBERT    KIRCHHOFF. 

GUSTAV  ROBERT   KIRCHHOFF. 

Geheimrath  Gustav  Robert  Kirchhoff  was  elected  a  Foreign 
Honorary  Member  of  this  Academy  on  November  9,  1870,  to  fill  the 
vacancy  created  by  the  death  of  the  eminent  chemist,  Thomas  Graham. 
Kirchhoff  was  born  in  Konigsberg,  Prussia,  on  March  12,  1824.  He 
died  in  Berlin  on  October  17,  1887,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years. 
After  passing  through  the  Gymnasium  he  continued  his  studies,  in 
physics  under  F.  E.  Neumann,  and  in  mathematics  under  F.  J.  Riche- 
lot,  both  eminent  Professors  in  the  University  of  Konigsberg,  taking  his 
degree  in  1847.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  had  selected  the  study  of 
physics  as  his  life  work.  As  Privat-docent  he  started  on  his  career  of 
teachiug  and  investigation,  in  Berlin.  He  was  Professor  Extraordinary 
and  co-director  of  the  Physical  Institute  in  Breslau  from  1850  to  1854. 
Here  he  formed  a  lifelong  intimacy  with  the  distinguished  chemist, 
R.  W.  Bunsen.  In  1852  Bunsen  went  to  the  University  of  Heidelberg 
as  Professor  of  Chemistry,  and  Kirchhoff  followed  him  in  1854,  suc- 
ceeding P.  G.  Jolly,  who  had  gone  to  Munich,  as  Professor  of  Physics. 
Here  he  remained  until  1875,  when  he  was  appointed  Professor  of 
Mathematical  Physics  in  the  University  of  Berlin. 

This  interesting  description  of  Kirchhoff  at  the  age  of  thirty,  as 
given  by  Robert  von  Helmholtz,  is  quoted  from  the  Popular  Science 
Monthly  :  — 

"  There  was,  therefore,  some  surprise  in  Heidelberg  when  the  slender, 
remarkably  youthful,  modest,  even  bashful  North  German  appeared, 
heralded  by  Bunsen's  warm  recommendations.  His  refined,  animated 
speech,  his  courteous  and  attractive  demeanor,  his  fine  sense  of  humor 
and  his  wit,  soon  won  him  the  liking  of  all  men  with  whom  he  came  in 
contact.  He  was,  therefore,  a  welcome  participant  in  all  the  social 
gatherings  of  the  circle  into  which  he  fell.  His  friendship  with  Bunsen 
became  very  close.  Bunsen  was  thirteen  years  his  elder,  strong  and 
broad-shouldered,  with  a  lively,  commanding  temperament,  making  his 
influence  felt  upon  every  one.  The  two  men  were  thus  quite  different 
in  their  outer  aspects  from  one  another :  yet  they  not  only  pursued 
their  great  works  in  common,  but  also  lived  their  daily  social  life  to- 
gether. They  took  walks  in  company  in  the  environs  of  Heidelberg, 
and  they  travelled  together  during  the  vacations." 

Before  taking  his  degree,  Kirchhoff  had  begun  his  work  in  original 
research,  and  published  a  remarkable  paper  on  electrical  conduction  in 
a  thin  plate,  especially  a  circular  one.  His  problem  was  to  find  the 
current  in  any  branch  of  a  network   of  linear  conductors.     Starting 


GUSTAV   ROBERT   KIRCHHOFF.  371 

from  Ohm's  familiar  law,  he  derived  two  results  long  recognized  in 
electrical  science  as  Kirchhoff's  laws.  Between  the  years  1845  and 
1852,  thirteen  other  papers  appeared,  discussing  mathematically  the 
most  difficult  problems  in  electricity,  magnetism,  light,  heat,  sound,  and 
elasticity  in  general.  In  1882,  when  the  number  of  his  separate  pub- 
lications had  grown  to  thirty-eight,  Kirchhoff  gathered  them  together, 
from  the  various  periodicals  in  which  they  originally  appeared,  into  a 
volume  of  six  hundred  and  forty-one  pages,  classifying  them  according 
to  subjects,  and  chronologically  in  reference  to  each  subject.  The  title 
of  this  volume  is  Gesammelte  Abhandlungen,  Leipzig,  1882.  Out  of 
a  wide  range  of  physical  problems,  all  of  which  are  treated  with  great 
mathematical  skill,  only  a  few  salient  points  can  be  indicated  in  this 
notice. 

Ohm  deduced  his  laws  for  electrical  currents  from  assumptions  which 
are  not  in  agreement  with  those  required  by  the  facts  of  statical  elec- 
tricity. Kirchhoff  proves  that  Ohm's  laws  can  be  derived  from  the 
electrostatic  repulsion  of  electricity  by  bringing  to  his  aid  certain  as- 
sumptions in  reference  to  the  question  which  in  the  electrostatic  theory 
remain  open.  Neumann  and  Weber  trusted  to  experiment  for  the 
value  of  the  constant  on  which  the  intensity  of  induced  currents  de- 
pends. In  1849  Kirchhoff  obtained  this  constant  by  a  purely  analytical 
treatment  of  the  subject,  and  thereby  made  the  measurements  of  elec- 
trical resistance  absolute. 

In  1877  Kirchhoff  published  his  theory  of  the  motion  of  electricity 
in  subterrene  and  submarine  telegraph  wires.  He  begins  with  the 
statement  that  Sir  William  Thomson  had  already,  in  1855,  starting 
from  the  hypothesis  that  the  influence  of  induction,  consequent  on 
changes  in  the  intensity  of  the  current,  could  be  neglected  in  compari- 
son with  the  influence  of  the  changes,  reached  the  position  that  the 
electricity  in  such  wires  was  propagated  according  to  the  same  laws  as 
conducted  heat.  He  says:  "I  allow  myself  to  lay  before  the  [Berlin] 
Academy  a  derivation  of  this  law,  which  rests  upon  the  same  hypothe- 
sis, but  comes  out  from  more  general  principles  than  those  given  by 
Thomson,  and  to  annex  some  formulas  which,  so  far  as  I  know,  have 
not  yet  been  published." 

In  1859  Kirchhoff  began  his  work  in  optics  by  measuring  the  angle 
between  the  axes  of  aragonite  for  rays  corresponding  to  the  different 
Frauenhofer  lines.  Then,  with  Bunsen,  he  studied  the  spectra  of  col- 
ored flames,  and  recorded  the  rays,  present  or  absent.  Facts  then 
appeared,  he  says,  which  gave  an  unexpected  solution  to  the  origin  of 
the  Frauenhofer  lines,  and  justified  inferences  as  to  the  material  quality 


372  GUSTAV   ROBERT   KIRCHHOFF. 

of  the  atmosphere  of  the  sun,  and  perhaps  also  of  the  stars.  "  I  con- 
clude from  these  observations  that  colored  flames,  showing  sharp,  bright 
lines  in  their  spectra,  so  weaken  rays  of  the  same  color  which  are  sent 
through  them  that  dark  lines  take  the  place  of  the  bright  ones,  if  a 
sufficiently  strong  light,  deficient  in  these  bright  lines,  is  placed  behind 
the  flame.  Furthermore,  I  conclude  that  the  dark  lines  of  the  solar 
spectrum,  which  are  not  produced  by  the  earth's  atmosphere,  are  evoked 
by  the  presence  of  such  substances  as  would  in  the  spectrum  of  a  flame 
exhibit  bright  lines  in  the  same  places." 

Again  he  says  :  "  I  take  this  opportunity  of  stating  a  conclusion 
which  I  have  reached  since  my  earlier  communication.  According  to 
the  investigations  of  Wheatstone,  Masson,  Angstrom,  and  others,  we 
know  that  in  the  spectrum  of  the  electric  spark  bright  lines  appear, 
depending  on  the  nature  of  the  metals  between  which  the  spark  occurs, 
and  we  may  suppose  that  these  lines  coincide  with  those  which  would 
exist  in  the  spectrum  of  a  flame  of  very  high  temperature  if  we  brought 
into  it  the  same  metal  in  a  suitable  form.  I  have  examined  the  green 
portion  of  the  spectrum  of  the  electric  spark  between  electrodes  of 
iron,  and  have  found  in  it  a  great  number  of  bright  lines,  which  seem  to 
coincide  with  dark  lines  of  the  solar  spectrum.  In  single  lines  the 
coincidence  is  hardly  established  securely,  but  I  think  that  I  have  seen 
it  in  many  groups,  the  brighter  lines  in  the  sj:>ark-spectrum  corre- 
sponding to  the  darker  lines  in  the  sun's  spectrum :  I  venture  to  con- 
clude that  these  coincidences  are  not  merely  apparent.  If  the  spark  is 
taken  from  other  metals,  for  example,  from  copper  electrodes,  these 
bright  lines  are  wanting.  I  feel  justified  in  concluding  that  among  the 
ingredients  of  the  glowing  atmosphere  of  the  sun  iron  is  found  :  a  con- 
clusion which  otherwise  comes  very  close  when  the  frequent  occurrence 
of  iron  in  the  earth  and  in  meteoric  stones  is  considered." 

This  paper  was  followed,  two  months  later,  by  another  on  the  rela- 
tion between  the  emission  and  absorption  of  light  and  heat.  From  the 
mechanical  theory  of  heat  Kirchhoff  demonstrated  mathematically  the 
law  that  the  proportion  between  the  powers  of  emission  and  absorption 
is  the  same  in  all  bodies  at  the  same  temperature,  and  for  waves  of  the 
same  length. 

In  1860  Kirchhoff  and  Bunsen  published  a  long  paper  under  the  title 
of"  Chemical  Analysis  of  Substances  by  Observations  on  their  Spectra.*' 
This  paper  was  illustrated  by  two  plates;  one  representing  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  apparatus  employed,  and  the  other  showing  the  spectra  of 
six  substances  in  juxtaposition  with  the  solar  spectrum.  Of  this  work 
Kirchhoff  writes  :  "  From  this  comprehensive  and  prolonged  investiga- 


GUSTAV    ROBERT   KIRCHHOFF.  373 

tion,  the  details  of  which  I  may  be  permitted  to  pass  over,  it  comes  out 
that  the  different  combinations  in  which  the  metals  have  been  tried,  the 
variety  of  chemical  processes  in  the  different  flames,  and  their  vast  dif- 
ference of  temperatures,  exert  no  influence  on  the  position  of  the  lines 
in  the  spectrum  of  the  same  metal." 

The  last  subject  introduced  into  the  Gesammelte  Abhandlungen  is 
the  history  of  spectrum  analysis  and  the  analysis  of  the  sun's  atmos- 
phere. It  rarely  happens  to  any  great  epoch  in  science  that  it  comes 
wholly  unheralded.  Kirchhoff  has  candidly  reviewed  the  various 
claims  which  have  been  advanced  as  anticipations  of  his  discovery. 
Some  of  them  were  merely  conjectures  ;  others  failed  from  too  great 
generality  and  looseness  of  statement ;  the  best  circulated  from  mouth 
to  mouth,  were  not  published,  and  could  not  have  been  known  to 
Kirchhoff  previous  to  his  own  discovery  ;  and  all  relied  on  inadequate 
experiments,  unsupported  by  mathematical  demonstration.  Every 
great  discovery  in  science,  after  it  has  been  clearly  proved  and  publicly 
announced,  throws  back  a  light  upon  its  antecedents  which  they  did  not 
and  could  not  originate.  Spectrum  analysis,  with  its  far  reaching  con- 
sequences, was  in  the  air :  a  few  great  minds  felt  it  and  predicted  it ; 
Kirchhoff  demonstrated  it. 

In  1874,  Kirchhoff  published  the  Vorlesungen  iiber  Mathemati&che 
Physik,  or  "  Lectures  on  Dynamics."  These  lectures,  thirty  in  num- 
ber, relate  to  the  mechanics  of  solids  and  liquids,  the  theory  of  light, 
electricity  and  magnetism,  and  special  subjects  in  hydro-dynamics  and 
electro-dynamics.  As  Kirchhoff  informs  his  readers  in  the  Preface,  he 
discusses  what  the  phenomena  are,  and  not  their  causes.  Other  writers 
are  accustomed  to  define  mechanics  as  the  science  of  forces,  and  force 
as  the  cause  which  produces  or  strives  to  produce  motion.  Kirchhoff 
admits  the  usefulness  of  this  definition  in  the  development  of  mechanics, 
and  to  the  student  when  it  is  illustrated  by  the  experiences  of  ordi- 
nary life  ;  but  he  thinks  that  there  always  clings  to  it  an  obscurity 
from  which  the  idea  of  cause  and  resistance  cannot  be  extricated.  This 
obscurity  manifests  itself  in  the  different  views  taken  of  the  laws  of 
inertia  and  the  parallelogram  of  forces,  whether  they  are  the  results 
of  experience,  axioms,  or  laws  which  can  and  must  be  known  logically. 
Kirchhoff  aimed  to  remove  this  obscurity  from  mechanics,  even  if  it 
were  only  possible  by  a  limitation  of  its  propositions.  He  would 
describe,  fully  and  in  the  simplest  manner,  the  motions  occurring  in 
nature,  ignoring  their  cause.  Starting  with  the  conception  of  space, 
time,  and  matter,  he  would  arrive  by  purely  mathematical  paths  at  the 
general  equations  of  mechanics.     The  notion  of  force  comes  in,  but  it  is 


374  GUSTAV   ROBERT   KIRCHHOFF. 

not  necessary  to  give  a  complete  definition  of  it.  But  the  imperfection 
of  this  definition  introduces  no  obscurity  into  results  ;  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  forces  in  this  way  only  serves  to  simplify  the  modes  of  state- 
ment, and  to  express  briefly  equations  which  without  the  help  of  this 
name  would  be  clumsily  described  by  words.  It  is  sufficient  for  remov- 
ing all  obscurity,  to  give  so  wide  a  definition  to  forces  that  every  law 
of  mechanics  in  which  forces  are  named  can  be  expressed  by  equations  : 
and  this  happens  in  a  striking  manner. 

Of  KirchhofF  and  his  lectures  Robert  von  Helmholtz  writes  thus,  as 
translated  in  the  Popular  Science  Monthly :  "  Plis  favorite  work,  and 
the  one  having  the  most  enduring  results,  was  his  lectures  on  mathe- 
matical physics.  His  address  was  impressive  by  reason  of  the  elegance 
and  precision  of  his  statement.  Not  a  word  was  wanting,  not  a  word 
was  in  excess ;  never  an  error,  an  obscurity,  or  an  ambiguity.  Re- 
markable also  was  the  exactness  of  his  calculations,  —  a  matter  of 
extreme  difficulty  to  laymen.  The  whole  material  arranged  itself 
before  the  eyes  of  the  class  in  the  form  of  a  nicely  adjusted  master- 
work  of  scientific  art,  so  that  every  part  exerted  its  full  effect  on  the 
others,  and  to  witness  one  of  his  deductions  was  a  real  esthetic  enjoy- 
ment. The  complete  understanding  of  his  reasoning  on  these  most 
difficult  subjects  implied,  of  course,  some  knowledge  of  the  mathemati- 
cal language  which  was  his  vehicle  of  thought ;  and  it  might  happen, 
and  did  in  fact  sometimes  happen,  that  a  hearer  could  not  comprehend 
why  KirchhofF  made  this  particular  deduction  and  not  some  other;  but 
every  one  was  able  to  follow  his  course  of  thought,  consider  it,  and 
render  it  correctly.  So  that,  paradoxical  as  it  may  appear,  it  was 
not  impossible,  without  having  really  understood  Kirchhoff,  to  repro- 
duce his  lectures  from  the  notes  into  a  respectable  book.  Kirchhoff 
was  able  to  give  his  lectures  uninterruptedly  in  Berlin  for  nine  years. 
But  we  who  heard  him  could  remark  the  effort  they  caused  him,  and 
how  he  had  to  husband  his  strength.  Yet  he  was  always  punctual, 
and  the  quality  of  his  teachings  was  never  depreciated.  Finally,  in 
1884,  the  doctors  forbade  him  to  read ;  and  although  he  was  able  to 
resume  this  his  favorite  occupation  for  a  time,  it  was  evident  that  his 
nervous  system  was  shattered." 

Kirchhoff  was  about  fifty  years  old  when  he  was  called  to  Berlin. 
He  had  already  done  his  greatest  work  on  the  spectrum,  and  published 
it.  But  his  eyes  had  suffered  from  an  accidental  exposure  to  the  sun, 
and  his  foot  had  been  seriously  injured  in  a  way  which  impaired  his 
general  health.  After  1882,  the  date  of  his  Abhandlungcn,  he  pub- 
lished a  few  papers. 


BALFOUR   STEWART.  375 

Helmholtz,  already  quoted,  writes :  "  Whether  life  in  Berlin  is 
favorable  to  scientific  pursuits  may  well  be  doubted.  The  teacher,  it 
is  true,  gains  a  wider,  richer  field  of  activity,  but  the  investigator  is 
robbed  of  a  larger  part  of  his  time.  Kirchhoff,  however,  was  protected 
by  his  physical  disability  against  most  of  the  drive  of  the  capital,  and 
was  able  to  labor  as  he  had  usually  done." 

In  his  power  of  handling  physical  problems,  Professor  Tait  ranks 
him  as  the  compeer  of  H.  L.  F.  Helmholtz,  Stokes,  Sir  William  Thom- 
son, and  Clerk  Maxwell.  His  discovery  of  spectrum  analysis  is  an 
epoch-making  one  in  science,  felt  equally  in  the  humblest  chemical 
analysis  and  in  the  remotest  star  and  nebula. 

BALFOUR   STEWART. 

To  have  achieved  a  permanent  place  in  the  literature  of  physics  is 
no  small  achievement.  This  honor  we  feel  that  the  world  will  accord 
to  Professor  Balfour  Stewart.  He  was  born  in  Edinburgh  on  Novem- 
ber 1,  1828,  and  died  on  December  18,  1887.  He  pursued  his  studies 
at  the  Universities  of  St.  Andrews  and  Edinburgh.  Unlike  most  men 
who  have  devoted  themselves  to  science,  he  did  not  linger  in  the  shade  of 
university  walls,  but  began  life  in  a  mercantile  office.  It  is  said  that  his 
leaning  toward  physical  science  first  strongly  manifested  itself  on  a  busi- 
ness voyage  to  Australia,  thus  affording  another  instance  of  the  effect  of 
solation,  so  characteristic  of  sailing  voyages,  upon  a  philosophic  tem- 
perament. His  first  scientific  papers  were  published  in  the  Transactions 
of  the  Physical  Society  of  Victoria,  in  1855,  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven, 
and  were  entitled  "On  the  Adaptation  of  the  Eye  to  different  Rays," 
and  "  On  the  Influence  of  Gravity  on  the  Physical  Condition  of  the 
Moon's  Surface."  It  is  curious  to  notice  that  these  early  papers  were 
upon  the  subjects  which  were  destined  to  engross  his  attention  in  ma- 
ture life,  —  the  subjects  of  light  or  radiant  energy  in  general,  and  the 
effect  of  gravitation  potential  ou  the  physical  properties  of  matter. 
Shortly  after  his  return  from  Australia,  he  abandoned  business  pursuits 
and  became  the  assistant  of  Professor  Forbes.  In  1858  he  enunciated 
his  extension  of  Provost's  Law  of  Exchanges,  and  had  the  good  fortune 
to  express  one  of  the  great  laws  of  nature  in  so  simple  a  manner,  and 
with  such  convincing  proofs  from  his  own  investigations,  that  the  future 
student  will  always  connect  it  with  the  name  of  Balfour  Stewart.  Pre- 
vost  had  shown  that  a  hot  iron  ball,  for  instance,  surrounded  by  other 
objects,  gained  or  lost  heat  in  proportion  to  the  absorbing  and  radiating 
power  of  the  iron  and  the  neighboring  objects.     Its  temperature  might 


376  BALFOUR   STEWART. 

remain  constant  if  the  heat  it  received  from  these  objects  compensated 
for  that  it  lost  to  them.  Stewart  showed  that  radiation  was  not  a  mere 
surface  phenomenon,  —  that  there  was  a  flow  of  heat  from  layer  to  layer 
of  the  particles  of  a  body,  —  in  other  words,  that  there  was  a  flow  of 
heat  pervading  all  matter,  and  that  its  direction  and  amount  were  deter- 
mined by  molecular  conditions, —  there  being  a  complete  equality  be- 
tween the  absorbing  and  the  radiating  power  of  each  substance.  For 
his  researches  on  this  subject,  he  was  awarded  the  Rumford  Medal 
by  the  Royal  Society. 

In  1859  Balfour  Stewart  was  appointed  Director  of  the  Kew  Obser- 
vatory, and  for  eleven  years  devoted  himself  to  meteorology.  The 
account  of  his  labors  in  this  new  field  can  be  found  in  the  Reports  of 
the  British  Association,  and  cover  a  great  number  of  subjects,  including 
the  testing  of  thermometers,  the  perfection  of  self-recordiug  apparatus 
for  the  study  of  the  magnetism  of  the  earth,  similar  apparatus  for  the 
study  of  atmospheric  electricity,  and  the  determination  of  the  freezing 
point  of  mercury  and  the  melting  point  of  paraffine,  with  the  subsidi- 
ary researches  on  the  constants  of  the  many  forms  of  meteorological 
instruments. 

In  1870  he  was  appointed  Professor  of  Physics  in  Owens  College, 
Manchester,  a  position  which  he  held  till  his  death.  The  character  of 
his  mind  as  an  investigator  was  clearly  shown  by  his  advocacy  of  the 
laboratory  method  of  instruction  in  physics.  Although  he  was  no 
longer  in  vigorous  health,  having  been  the  victim  of  a  frightful  railroad 
accident,  he  did  not  shrink  from  the  serious  increase  of  labor  which  the 
laboratory  method  entails  over  the  lecture  and  recitation  method.  His 
treatise  on  Practical  Physics  is  one  of  the  best  laboratory  treatises  in 
physics,  and  forcibly  illustrates  the  peculiar  quality  of  the  author's 
mind,  which  was  marked  by  a  philosophical  breadth  in  the  choice  of 
methods  to  cultivate  the  scientific  instinct. 

By  the  publication  of  elementary  treatises  on  Heat,  on  Practical 
Physics,  on  Elementary  Physics,  and  on  the  Conservation  of  En- 
ergy, Stewart  contributed  largely  to  the  cause  of  scientific  education. 
Among  these  treatises,  that  on  Heat  easily  takes  the  first  place  from 
a  scientific  point  of  view,  and  can  be  entitled  a  classic.  It  is  prob- 
able that  the  general  reader  of  science  first  gained  his  ideas  of  the 
great  generalization  of  the  conservation  of  energy  from  Stewart's 
simple  exposition  of  the  subject.  He  was  also  a  frequent  contributor 
to  "  Nature,"  and  other  scientific  periodicals,  and  he  wrote  an  article 
on  Terrestrial  Magnetism  for  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica.  He  also 
wrote,  in  conjunction  with  De  la  Rue  and  Loewy,  a  series  of  papers 


BERNHARD    STUDER.  377 

on  Solar  Physics.  It  was  natural  that  his  labors  as  director  of  a  meteo- 
rological observatory  should  attract  his  atteutiou  to  even  geological 
speculation,  and  we  rind  several  papers  by  him  on  Geology.  In  a  late 
article  in  the  Philosophical  Magazine,  he  discusses  the  various  theories 
which  have  been  propounded  to  account  for  the  magnetism  of  the  earth, 
and  puts  forth  the  theory  that  it  may  be  due  to  electrical  currents  circu- 
lating in  the  upper  regions  of  the  atmosphere,  —  the  phenomena  of  the 
aurora  being  the  discharge  from  the  earth  to  the  upper  regions,  or  the 
discharge  from  the  upper  regions  to  the  earth,  —  thus  giving  evidence 
of  electrical  currents.  His  paper  in  conjunction  with  Tait  upon  the 
heating  of  a  disk  of  metal  or  ebonite  by  rapid  rotation  in  vacuo  is  very 
suggestive  in  reference  to  the  motion  of  heavenly  bodies  through  space, 
and  seems  to  afford  color  to  the  hypothesis  of  the  dissipation  of  energy. 

The  closing  period  of  his  life  was  marked  by  that  indulgence  in 
peculiar  physical  speculations  which  were  perhaps  the  outcome  of  a 
Scotch  theological  and  philosophical  environment.  In  "  The  Unseen 
Universe,"  and  in  the  "  Paradoxical  Philosophy,"  both  of  which  were 
written  in  conjunction  with  Professor  Tait,  we  find  an  interesting  ex- 
pression of  the  thoughts  which  labors  in  a  laboratory  cannot  fail  to 
excite  in  a  physicist's  mind.  The  Unseen  Universe  is  a  valuable  con- 
tribution to  modern  theological  speculation,  and  affords  the  believer  in 
miracles  and  the  resurrection  grounds  for  his  belief,  in  the  facts  and 
great  hypotheses  of  physical  science.  The  evidence  thus  presented  for 
a  belief  is  especially  interesting  when  compared  with  the  historical  evi- 
dences. The  authors  affirm,  "  As  one  result  of  this  inquiry,  we  are  led 
by  strict  reasoning  on  purely  scientific  grounds  to  the  probable  conclu- 
sion that  a  life  for  the  unseen,  through  the  unseen,  is  to  be  regarded  as 
the  only  perfect  life." 

It  is  curious  to  reflect  that  the  country  which  has  produced  a  Reid 
and  a  Dugald  Stewart  now  expresses  its  highest  philosophical  thought, 
not  in  metaphysics,  but  in  physics.  The  student  can  find  ample  illustra- 
tion of  this  in  the  writings  of  James  Clerk  Maxwell,  of  Sir  William 
Thomson,  and  of  Balfour  Stewart. 

BERNHARD   STUDER. 

Professor  Bernhard  Studer  was  born  at  Buren,  near  Bern,  in 
August,  1794,  and  died  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  ninety-three  in  the  city  of 
Bern,  Switzerland,  on  the  2d  of  May,  1887. 

He  was  educated  as  a  clergyman,  but  never  entered  the  ministry. 
After  studying  at  the  University  of  Gbttiugen,  Studer  became  so  in- 


378  BERNHARD    STUDER. 

tensely  interested  in  geology,  that  he  resolved  to  consecrate  all  his  life 
to  the  hard  work  of  trying  to  disentangle  the  very  complicated  geologi- 
cal structure  of  his  native  country,  the  Oberland  or  Bernese  Alps.  His 
first  work,  as  a  sort  of  preliminary,  was  his  "  Monographic  der  Molasse," 
published  in  1825.  Considering  the  time  and  the  state  of  palaeonto- 
lo<ncal  knowledge,  Studer  showed  capacity  of  the  first  order  as  a 
minute,  diligent  observer,  and  great  skill  for  generalization,  on  a  prac- 
tical geological  question,  very  little  understood  until  his  monograph. 

Then  Studer  commenced  in  earnest  his  exploration  of  the  Alps  of 
the  Valais,  Vaud,  Fribourg,  Bern,  and  Lucerne,  publishing  excellent 
descriptions  of  the  different  large  massifs  of  the  Grand  Saint-Bernard, 
of  Monte  Rosa,  of  the  Simplon,  St.  Gothard,  the  Bernese  Oberland, 
the  country  between  the  lakes  of  Thun  and  Lucerne,  and  his  great  work 
on  the  Swiss  Occidental  Alps,  with  a  most  important  Atlas,  Leipzig, 
1834. 

It  can  be  said  of  him  that  he  is  the  first  geologist  who  has  delineated 
and  fixed  the  theory  of  massifs  of  the  Alps,  explaining  them  by  the 
eruptive  forces.  Studer  opposed  sternly  the  opinions  expressed  lately 
by  Ed.  Suss  of  Vienna,  and  remained  to  the  last  a  partisan  of  the  Von 
Buch  theory. 

His  "  Geologie  der  Sehweiz,"  in  two  volumes,  Bern,  1851-53,  is  one 
of  the  best  resumes  ever  published  of  the  geology  of  a  whole  country, — 
clear,  exact,  well  balanced,  and  extremely  just  towards  all  his  contem- 
poraries and  brother  geologists  of  the  Alps  and  the  Jura.  In  con- 
nection with  this  masterly  work,  Studer  published,  with  his  friend 
Arnold  Escher  von  der  Linth,  "  La  Carte  geologique  de  la  Suisse,"  in 
four  sheets  ;  and  a  reduction  in  one  sheet,  two  years  later,  1855.  The 
part  of  Escher  von  der  Linth  relating  to  the  Geology  of  the  Eastern 
Alps  of  Switzerland  and  Voralberg  is  on  a  level  with  Studer's  re- 
searches ;  and  his  extremely  difficult  studies  of  the  area  of  the  cantons 
of  Uri,  Unterwalden,  Schwytz,  Glaris,  and  St.  Gall  can  compare  with 
the  most  complicated  stratigraphy  ever  published  in  any  country. 

In  1859,  Studer,  entirely  by  his  own  exertions  and  direct  influence, 
obtained  from  the  federal  government  of  Switzerland  the  organization 
of  the  Geological  Survey,  in  view  of  publishing  a  Geological  Map  of 
Switzerland  on  the  scale  of  1 :  100,000.  Studer  was  appointed  Presi- 
dent of  the  Commission,  and  until  the  last  day  of  his  life  he  directed 
the  work  admirably,  and  succeeded  almost  in  bringing  it  to  its  close,  for 
he  saw  the  proof  of  the  last  sheet  of  the  "  Carte  geologique  de  la 
Suisse  "  colored  on  the  topographical  map  of  General  Defour,  shortly 
before  his  death. 


BERNHARD    STUDER.  379 

Studer  was  an  excellent  organizer,  and  he  did  a  great  deal  as  such, 
first  at  the  University  of  Bern,  then  at  the  federal  Polytechnic  School 
of  Zurich,  and  also  as  Director  of  the  Geological  Survey. 

Short  in  stature,  —  he  was  called  among  his  friends  and  contempo- 
raries "  le  petit  Studer,"  —  of  slender  frame,  and  light-footed,  he  was 
one  of  the  best  Alpine  climbers.  He  associated  or  got  help  from  all 
the  geologists  who  studied  the  Alps  and  the  Jura.  Being  very  honest 
and  free  in  his  opinions,  he  gave  every  one  his  due,  and  at  the  same 
time  kept  pace  with  all  the  progress  that  was  made.  At  first  Studer 
opposed  the  glacial  theory  of  Venetz,  De  Charpentier  and  Agassiz; 
but,  after  several  years  spent  in  a  close  study  of  the  question  in  the 
field,  he  became  converted,  and  was  afterward  one  of  the  most  diligent 
propagators  of  the  new  doctrine. 

He  had  the  reputation  of  being  an  excellent  friend,  and  quite  witty, 
like  his  celebrated  cousin,  the  minister  Bitzius  (Jeremy  Gotthelf)  of  the 
Emmenthal,  the  author  of  the  "  Miroir  des  Paysans,"  the  "Nouvelles 
Bernoises,"  and  of  so  many  remarkable  novels  on  the  life  of  the  Bernese 
country  people.  Studer  used  to  say,  "  Ce  qu'il  y  a  de  plus  remarqua- 
ble  dans  Lyell,  c'est  Lady  Lyell,"  — a  compliment  which  highly  pleased 
Sir  Charles,  who  clapped  his  hands,  the  first  time  he  heard  it,  exclaim- 
ing, "  True  !  true  !  "  But  the  witty  remark  applied  exactly  to  himself, 
for  Mrs.  Studer  was  also  a  very  remarkable  lady  in  more  than  one 
sense.  Neither  Lyell  nor  Studer  had  any  children,  and  they  were 
able,  with  the  great  help  of  their  wives,  to  consecrate  all  their  time  and 
life  to  the  study  of  Geology. 

With  him  disappears  the  last  illustrious  savant  of  the  second  genera- 
tion of  great  geologists,  who  have  built  Geology  up  little  by  little. 
Studer  came  after  Humboldt,  Von  Buch,  Friesleben,  William  Smith, 
Alexandre  Brongniart,  Prevost,  Cordier,  D'Omalius,  De  Charpentier, 
De  la  Beche,  Conybeare,  Buckland,  etc.,  and  from  1825  to  1880  he 
maintained  his  position  as  one  of  the  best  practical  geologists  in  a  time 
when  they  could  point  to  such  men  as  Elie  de  Beaumont,  Sedg- 
wick, Lyell,  Murchison,  Brown,  Goldfuss,  Frederic  A.  Romer,  Alcide 
d'Orbigny,  De  Verneuil,  D'Archiac,  Agassiz,  Barrande,  Jules  Pictet  de 
la  Rive,  Boue,  Escher  von  der  Linth,  Oswald  Heer,  Thurmann,  etc. 

Studer  was  present  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Society  of  the  Swiss 
Naturalists  (Societe  Helvetique  des  Sciences  Naturelles)  at  Geneva,  on 
the  6th  of  October,  1815,  and  he  enjoys  the  unique  distinction  of  having 
been  a  member  during  seventy-two  years  of  the  first  association  ever 
founded  for  the  advancement  of  science. 


380  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN   ACADEMY. 

Since  the  last  Report,  the  Academy  has  received  an  acces- 
sion of  four  members,  A.  L.  Rotch,  George  F.  Swain,  Elihu 
Thomson,  and  Crawford  H.  Toy,  all  as  Resident  Fellows. 
The  list  of  the  Academy,  corrected  to  date,  May  29,  1888,  is 
hereto  added.  It  includes  178  Resident  Fellows,  99  Asso- 
ciate Fellows,  and  64  Foreign  Honorary  Members. 


LIST 


OF  THE  FELLOWS  AND  FOKEIGN  HONORARY  MEMBERS. 

(Corrected  to  May  29, 1888.) 


RESIDENT     FELLOWS.  — 176. 

(Number  limited  to  two  hundred.) 

Class  I.  —  Mathematical  and  Physical  Sciences. —^7 6. 


Section  I.  — 6. 

Mathematics. 

Boston. 


Gustavus  Hay, 
Benjamin  O.  Peirce, 
James  M.  Peirce, 
John  D.  Runkle, 
T.  H.  Safford, 
Edwin  P.  Seaver, 


Cambridge. 
Cambridge. 
Brookline. 
Williamstown. 
Newton. 


Section  II.  — 12. 
Practical  Astronomy  and  Geodesy. 

J.  Ingersoll  Bowditch,  Boston. 
Seth  C  Chandler,  Cambridge. 

Alvan  G.  Clark,        Cambridgeport. 
George  B.  Clark,      Cambridgeport. 
J.  Rayner  Edmands,    Cambridge. 
Henry  Mitchell,  Nantucket. 

Edward  C.  Pickering,  Cambridge. 
John  Ritchie,  Jr.,         Boston. 
William  A.  Rogers, Waterville,  Me. 
Edwin  F.  Sawyer,  Cambridgeport. 
Arthur  Searle,  Cambridge. 


0.  C.  Wendell, 

Cambridge 

Section  IH 

—  43. 

Physics  and  Chemistry. 

A.  Graham  Bell, 

Cambridge. 

Clarence  J.  Blake, 

Boston. 

Francis  Blake, 

Weston. 

John  H.  Blake, 

Boston. 

Josiah  P.  Cooke, 

Cambridge. 

James  M.  Crafts, 

Boston. 

Charles  R.  Cross, 

Boston. 

William  P.  Dexter, 
Amos  E.  Dolbear, 
Thos.  M.  Drown, 
Charles  W.  Eliot, 
Moses  G.  Farmer, 
Thomas  Gaffield, 
Wolcott  Gibbs, 
Frank  A.  Gooch, 
Edwin  H.  Hall, 
Henry  B.  Hill, 
N.  D.  C.  Hodges, 
Silas  W.  Holman, 
William  L.  Hooper, 
Eben  N.  Horsford, 
T.  Sterry  Hunt, 
Charles  L.  Jackson, 
William  W.  Jacques, 
Alonzo  S.  Kimball, 
Leonard  P.  Kinnicutt, 
Joseph  Lovering, 
Charles  F.  Mabery, 
Arthur  Michael, 
Lewis  M.  Norton, 
John  M.  Ordway, 
William  H.  Pickering, 
Robert  H.  Richards, 
Edward  S.  Ritchie, 
A.  L.  Rotch, 
Stephen  P.  Sharpies, 
Francis  H.  Storer, 
Elihu  Thomson, 
John  Trowbridge, 
Cyrus  M.  Wai'ren, 
Harold  Whiting, 
Charles  H.  Wing, 
Edward  S.  Wood, 


Roxbury. 
Somerville. 
Boston. 
Cambridge. 
Eliot,  Me. 
Boston. 
Newport,  R.  I. 
New  Haven. 
Cambridge. 
Boston. 
Salem. 
Boston. 
Somerville. 
Cambridge. 
Montreal. 
Cambridge. 
Newton. 
Worcester. 
Worcester. 
Cambridge. 
Cleveland. 
Boston. 
Newton. 
New  Orleans. 
Cambridge. 
Boston. 
Brookline. 
Boston. 
Cambridge. 
Boston. 
Lynn. 
Cambridge. 
Brookline. 
Cambridge. 
Boston. 
Cambridge. 


382 


RESIDENT   FELLOWS. 


Section  IV.  — 15. 

Technology  and  Engineering. 


George  R.  Baldwin, 
John  M.  Batchelder, 
Chas.  O.  Boutelle, 
Winfield  S.  Chaplin, 
Eliot  C.  Clarke, 
James  B.  Francis, 


Woburn. 

Cambridge. 

Washington. 

Cambridge. 

Boston. 

Lowell. 


Gaetano  Lanza,  Boston. 4 

E.  D.  Leavitt,  Jr.,    Cambridgeport. 


William  R.  Lee, 
Hiram  F.  Mills, 
Alfred  P.  Rockwell, 
Charles  S.  Storrow, 
George  F.  Swain, 
William  Watson, 
Morrill  Wyman, 


Roxbury. 

Lawrence. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Cambridge. 


Class  II.  —  Natural  and  Physiological  Sciences.  —  49. 


Section  I.  —  8. 

Geology,  Mineralogy,  and  Physics  of 
the  Globe. 


Thomas  T.  Bouve, 
Algernon  Coolidge, 
William  O.  Crosby, 
William  M.  Davis, 
O.  W.  Huntington, 
Jules  Marcou, 
William  H.  Niles, 
Nathaniel  S.  Shaler, 


Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Cambridge. 

Cambridge. 

Cambridge. 

Cambridge. 

Cambridge. 


Section  II.  —  6. 


Botany. 

William  G.  Farlow, 
George  L.  Goodale, 
H.  H.  Hunnewell, 
Charles  S.  Sargent, 
Charles  J.  Sprague, 
Sereno  Watson, 


Cambridge. 

Cambridge. 

Wellesley. 

Brookline. 

Boston. 

Cambridge. 


Section  III.  — 19. 

Zoology  and  Physiology. 

Alex.  E.  R.  Agassiz,  Cambridge. 

Robert  Amory,  Boston. 

James  M.  Barnard,  Milton. 

Henry  P.  Bowditch,  Boston. 


Edward  Burgess, 
J.  W.  Fewkes, 
Hermann  A.  Hagen, 
Alpheus  Hyatt, 
Samuel  Kneeland, 
Theodore  Lyman, 
Edward  L.  Mark, 
Charles  S.  Minot, 
Edward  S.  Morse, 
James  J.  Putnam, 
Samuel  H.  Scudder, 
William  T.  Sedgwick, 
D.  Humphreys  Storer, 
Henry  Wheatland, 
James  C.  White, 


Boston. 

Cambridge. 

Cambridge. 

Cambridge. 

Boston. 

Brookline. 

Cambridge. 

Boston. 

Salem. 

Boston. 

Cambridge. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Salem. 

Boston. 


Section  IV.  — 16. 


Medicine  and  Surgery. 


Samuel  L.  Abbot, 
Henry  J.  Bigelow, 
Henry  I.  Bowditch, 
Benjamin  E.  Cotting, 
Frank  W.  Draper, 
Thomas  Dwight, 
Charles  F.  Folsom, 
Richard  M.  Hodges, 
Oliver  W.  Holmes, 
Alfred  Hosmer, 
Francis  Minot, 


Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Roxbury. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Watertown. 

Boston. 


RESIDENT    FELLOWS. 


383 


Wm.  L.  Richardson,  Boston. 
George  C.  Shattuck,  Boston. 
J.  Baxter  Upham,        New  York. 


John  C.  Warren,  Boston. 

Henry  W.  Williams,    Boston. 


Class  III.  —  Moral  and  Political  Sciences. — 51. 


Section  I.  —  8. 
Philosophy  and  Jurisprudence. 


James  B.  Ames, 
Phillips  Brooks, 
Charles  C.  Everett, 
Horace  Gray, 
John  C.  Gray, 
John  Lowell, 
Henry  W.  Paine, 
James  B.  Thayer, 


Cambridge. 

Boston. 

Cambridge. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Newton. 

Cambridge. 

Cambridge. 


Section  II.  — 17. 
Philology  and  Archaeology. 


William  S.  Appleton, 
William  P.  Atkinson, 
Lucien  Carr, 
Joseph  T.  Clarke, 
Henry  G.  Denny, 
Epes  S.  Dixwell, 
William  Everett, 
William  W.  Goodwin, 
Henry  W.  Haynes, 
David  G.  Lyon, 
Bennett  H.  Nash, 
Frederick  W.  Putnam 
Joseph  H.  Thayer, 
Crawford  H.  Toy, 
John  W.  White, 
Justin  Winsor, 
Edward  J.  Young, 


Boston. 
Boston. 
Boston. 
Boston. 
Boston. 
Cambridge. 
Quincy. 
Cambridge. 
Boston. 
Cambridge. 
Boston. 
,  Cambridge. 
Cambridge. 
Cambridge. 
Cambridge. 
Cambridge. 
Waltham. 


Section  III. —  18. 


Political  Economy 

Chas.  F.  Adams, 
Edward  Atkinson, 
John  Cummings, 
Charles  Deane, 
Charles  F.  Dunbar, 
Samuel  Eliot, 
George  E.  Ellis, 
Edwin  L.  Godkin, 
Henry  C.  Lodge, 
Augustus  Lowell, 
Edward  J.  Lowell, 
Francis  Parkman, 
Andrew  P.  Peabody, 
John  C.  Ropes, 
Denman  W.  Ross, 
Henry  W.  Torrey, 
Francis  A.  Walker, 
Robert  C.  Winthrop, 


and  History. 

Quincy. 

Boston. 

Woburn. 

Cambridge. 

Cambridge. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

New  York. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Cambridge. 

Boston. 

Cambridge. 

Cambridge. 

Boston. 

Boston. 


Section  IV.  — 8. 
Li'erature  and  the  Fine  Arts. 


George  S.  Boutwell, 
Martin  Brimmer, 
J.  Elliot  Cabot, 
Francis  J.  Child, 
Charles  G.  Loring, 
James  Russell  Lowell, 
Charles  Eliot  Norton, 
John  G.  Whittier, 


Groton. 

Boston. 

Brookline. 

Cambridge. 

Boston. 

Cambridge. 

Cambridge. 

Amesbury. 


384 


ASSOCIATE   FELLOWS. 


ASSOCIATE     FELLOWS.  — 97. 

(Number  limited  to  one  hundred.) 

Class  I.  —  Mathematical  and  Physical  Sciences.  —  38. 
Section  I.  —  6.  Section  III.  — 12. 


Mathematics. 

William  Ferrel,     Kansas  City,  Mo. 
Thomas  Hill,         Portland,  Me. 
Simon  Newcomb,  Washington. 
H.  A.  Newton,      New  Haven.     • 
James  E.  Oliver,  Ithaca,  N.Y. 
Wm.  E.  Story,      Baltimore. 

Section  II.  — 11. 

Practical  Astronomy  and  Geodesy. 


W.H.CBartlett, 
J.  H.  C  Coffin, 
Geo.  Davidson, 
Wm.  H.  Emory, 
Asaph  Hall, 
J.  E.  Hilgard, 
George  W.  Hill, 
E.  S.  Holden, 
Sam.  P.  Langley, 
Eli  as  Loomis, 
Maria  Mitchell, 
C.  H.  F.  Peters, 
George  M.  Searle, 
Chas.  A.  Young, 


Yonkers,  N.Y. 
Washington. 
San  Francisco. 
Washington. 
Washington. 
Washington. 
Washington. 
San  Jose,  Cal. 
Washington. 
New  Haven. 
Poughkeepsie. 
Clinton,  N.Y. 
New  York. 
Princeton,  N.J. 


Philadelphia. 
Berkeley,  Cal. 
Charlottesville,  Va. 
Hoboken,  N.  J. 


Physics  and  Chemistry. 

F.  A.  P.  Barnard,  New  York. 
J.  Willard  Gibbs,  New  Haven. 
S.W.Johnson,     New  Haven. 
M.  C.  Lea, 
John  Le  Conte, 
J.  W.  Mallet, 
A.  M.  Mayer, 
A.  A.  Michelson,  Cleveland. 
Ira  Remsen,  Baltimore. 

Ogden  N.  Rood,  New  York. 
H.  A.  Rowland,  Baltimore. 
L.M.  Rutherfurd,  New  York. 


Section  IV.  —  6. 

Technology  and  Engineering. 


Henry  L.  Abbot, 
Geo.  W.  Cullum, 
Geo.  S.  Morison, 
John  Newton, 
William  Sellers, 
W.  P.  Trowbridge, 


New  York. 
New  York. 
New  York. 
New  York. 
Philadelphia. 
New  Haven. 


Section  I.  — 15. 

Geology,  Mineralogy,  and  Physics  of 

the  Globe. 


Class  II.  —  Natural  and  Physiological  Sciences.  —  31. 

James  Hall,  Albany,  N.Y. 

F.  S.  Holmes,       Charleston,  S.C. 
Clarence  King,      Washington. 
Joseph  Le  Conte,  Berkeley,  Cal. 
J.  Peter  Lesley,    Philadelphia. 
J.  S.  Newberry,    New  York. 
R.  Pumpelly,         Newport,  R.I. 
J.  W.  Powell,        Washington. 
Geo.  C.  Swallow,  Columbia,  Mo. 


Cleveland  Abbe, 
George  J.  Brush, 
James  D.  Dana, 
Sir  J.  W.  Dawson, 
J.  C.  Fremont, 
F.  A.  Genth, 


Washington. 
New  Haven. 
New  Haven. 
Montreal. 
New  York. 
Philadelphia. 


ASSOCIATE    FELLOWS. 


385 


Section  II.  —  3. 

Botany. 

A.  W.  Chapman,  Apalacliicola,  Fla. 
D.  C.  Eaton,         New  Haven. 
Leo  Lesquereux,  Columbus. 

Section  III. —7. 

Zoology  and  Physiology. 

Joel  A.  Allen,  New  York. 

J.  C.  Dalton,  New  York. 

Joseph  Leidy,  Philadelphia. 

O.  C.  Marsh,  New  Haven. 


S.  Weir  Mitchell, 
A.  S.  Packard, 
A.  E.  Verrill, 


Philadelphia. 
Providence. 
New  Haven. 


Section  IV.  —  6. 

Medicine  and  Surgery. 

Fordyce  Barker,        New  York. 
John  S.  Billings,        Washington. 
Jacob  M.  Da  Costa,  Philadelphia. 
W.  A.  Hammond,       New  York. 
Alfred  Stille,  Philadelphia. 

H.  C.  Wood,  Philadelphia. 


Class  III.  —  Moral  and  Political  Sciences.  —  28. 


Section  I.  —  9. 
Philosophy  and  Jurisprudence. 


D.  R.  Goodwin, 
A.  G.  Haygood, 
R.  G.  Hazard, 
Nathaniel  Holmes, 
James  McCosh, 
Charles  S.  Peirce, 
Noah  Porter, 

E.  G.  Robinson, 
Jeremiah  Smith, 


Philadelphia. 
Oxford,  Ga. 
Peacedale,  R.I. 
Cambridge. 
Princeton,  N.J. 
New  York. 
New  Haven. 
Providence. 
Dover,  N.H. 


Section  II. — 7. 

Philology  and  Archaeology. 

A.  N.  Arnold,       Pawtuxet,  R.I. 

D.  C.  Gilman,       Baltimore. 

A.  C.  Kendrick,    Rochester,  N.Y. 

E.  E.  Salisbury,    New  Haven. 
A.  D.  White,        Ithaca,  N.Y. 


W.  D.  Whitney, 
T.  D.  Woolsey, 


New  Haven. 
New  Haven. 


Section  in. — 6. 

Political  Economy  and  History. 
Henry  Adams,  Washington. 


George  Bancroft, 
M.  F.  Force, 
Henry  C.  Lea, 
W.  G.  Sumner, 
J.  H.  Trumbull, 


Washington. 
Cincinnati. 
Philadelphia. 
New  Haven. 
Hartford. 


Section  IV.  —  6. 

Literature  and  the  Fine  Arts. 

James  B.  Angell,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich. 
L.  P.  di  Cesnola,      New  York. 
F.  E.  Church,  New  York. 

R.  S.  Greenough,     Florence. 
William  W.  Story,  Rome. 
Wm.  R.  Ware,         New  York. 


vol.  xxiii.  (n.  s.  xv.) 


25 


386 


FOREIGN    HONORARY   MEMBERS. 


FOREIGN  HONORARY  MEMBERS.  — 64. 


(Elected  as  vacancies  occur.) 


Class  I.  —  Mathematical  and  Physical  Sciences.  —  22. 


Section  I. 

—  6. 

Section  III.  — 8. 

Mathematics. 

Physics  and  Chemistry. 

John  C.  Adams, 

Cambridge. 

Adolf  Baeyer,               Munich. 

Sir  George  B.  Airy, 

Greenwich. 

Marcellin  Berthelot,     Paris. 

Francesco  Brioschi, 

Milan. 

R.  Bunsen,                    Heidelberg. 

Arthur  Cayley, 

Cambridge. 

M.  E.  Chevreul,           Paris. 

Charles  Hermite, 

Paris. 

H.  L.  F.  Helmholtz,    Berlin. 

J.  J.  Sylvester, 

Oxford. 

A.  W.  Hofmann,          Berlin. 

G.  G.  Stokes,                Cambridge. 

Section  II 

.  —  5. 

Julius  Thomsen,           Copenhagen 

Practical  Astronomy 

and  Geodesy. 

Section  IV.  —  3. 

Arthur  Auwers, 
J.  H.  W.  Dollen, 

Berlin. 
Pulkowa. 

Technology  and  Engineering. 

H.  A.  E.  A.  Faye, 

Paris. 

R.  Clausius,                  Bonn. 

Eduard  Schonfeld, 

Bonn. 

F.  M.  de  Lesseps,         Paris. 

Otto  Struve, 

Pulkowa. 

Sir  Wm.  Thomson,      Glasgow. 

Class  II.  —  Natural  and  Physiological  Sciences.  —  26. 


Section  I.  —  G. 

Geology,  Mineralogy,  and  Physics  of 
the  Globe. 

H.  Ernst  Beyrich,        Berlin. 
Alfred  Des  Cloizeaux,  Paris. 
James  Prescott  Joule,  Manchester. 
C.  F.  Rammelsberg,    Berlin. 
Sir  A.  C.  Ramsay,       London. 
Heinrich  Wild,         St.  Petersburg. 


Section  II.  —  6. 

Botany. 

J.  G.  Agardh,  Lund. 

AlphonsedeCandolle,   Geneva. 
Sir  Joseph  D.  Hooker,  London. 
Carl  Nageli,  Munich. 

Julius  Sachs,  Wurzburg. 

Marquis  de  Saporta,      Aix. 


FOREIGN    HONORARY   MEMBERS. 


387 


Section  III.  — 10. 

Zoology  and  Physiology. 

P.  J.  Van  Beneden,  Louvain. 

Du  Bois-Reymond,  Berlin. 

Thomas  H.  Huxley,  London. 

Albrecht  Kolliker,  Wurzburg. 

Lacaze-Duthiers,  Paris. 

Rudolph  Leuckart,  Leipsic. 

C.  F.  W.  Ludwig,  Leipsic. 

Sir  Richard  Owen,  London. 


Louis  Pasteur,  Paris. 

J.  J.  S.  Steenstrup,     Copenhagen. 

Section  IV. — 4. 

Medicine  and  Surgery. 

C.  E.  Brown- Se'quard,  Paris. 
F.  C.  Donders,  Utrecht. 

Sir  James  Paget,  London. 

Rudolph  Virchow,        Berlin. 


Class  III. — -Moral  and  Political  Sciences.  —  16. 


Section  I.  —  2. 

Philosophy  and  Jurisprudence. 

James  Martineau,  London. 

Sir  James  F.  Stephen,       London. 

Section  II.  —  5. 
Philology  and  Archaeology. 

Pascual  de  Gayangos,  Madrid. 
Benjamin  Jowett,         Oxford. 
G.  C  C.  Maspero,        Paris  ? 
Max  Miiller,  Oxford. 

Sir  H.  C.  Rawlinson,  London. 


Section  III.  —  6. 

Political  Economy  and  History. 

Ernst  Curtius,  Berlin. 

W.  Ewart  Gladstone,  London. 
Charles  Merivale,         Ely. 
Theodor  Mommsen,     Berlin. 
Jules  Simon,  Paris. 

William  Stubbs,  Chester. 

Section  IV.  — 3. 

Literature  and  the  Fine  Arts. 

Jean  Leon  Gerome,    Paris. 
John  Ruskin,  Coniston. 

Lord  Tennyson,  Isle  of  Wight. 


INDEX. 


A. 

Acid,  (S-brom-S-sulphopyromucic,  196. 
/3-sulpho-S-brompyromucic,  206. 
/3-sulphopyromucic,  214. 
/3y-  dibrom  -  8-  sulphopyromucic, 

201. 
/38-dibrompyromucic,    action    of 
fuming  sulphuric  acid  upon, 
218. 
fi-sulphopyromucic,  188. 
tribrompyromucic,     action      of 
filming  sulphuric  acid  upon, 
220. 
Acids,  substituted  pyromucic,  188. 

sulphopyromucic,  188. 
Aizopsis,  DC,  260. 
Alysmus,  250. 
Alyssum,  249,  250. 
Ampelopsis,  Michx.,  227. 
Arnyris,  P.  Browne,  225. 
maritima,  Jacq.,  226. 
var.  angustifolia,  226. 
parvifolia,  226. 
Aplopappus  niveus,  277. 
Argentic  /3y-dibrom-8-sulphopyromu- 
cate,  203. 
/3-sulpho-S-brompyromucate,  209. 
sulphofumarate,  213. 
8-sulphopyromucate,  191. 
Arnold,  Matthew,  death  of,  315. 

notice  of,  349. 
Artemisia  dracunculina,  279. 
Astragalus  oxyphysus,  Gray,  263. 
scalaris,  270. 
sylvaticus,  262. 
Yaquianus,  270. 
Atomic  weight  of  copper,  further  in- 
vestigation on  the,  177. 
Atomic  weights  of  hydrogen  and  oxy- 
gen, the  relative  values  of  the, 
149. 
additional  note  on,  182. 


B. 

Baird,  Spencer  Fullerton,  death  of, 
310,  315. 
notice  of,  347. 
Baric      /3-brom-S-sulphopyromucate, 
196. 
aa-dibromfurfuran-/3-sulphonate, 

210. 
£y  -  dibrom-S-sulphopyromucate, 

201. 
j3  sulpho-S-brompyromucate,  207. 
sulphofumarate,  212. 
0-sulphopyromucate,  215. 
S-sulphopyromucate,  189. 
Benzol,  239,  245,  247. 
Benzol,  boiling  points   of  naphtha- 
line, benzophenone,  and,  under 
controlled  pressure,  with  spe- 
cial reference  to  thermometrv, 
237. 
Benzophenone,  239,  244,  246. 
Benzophenone,  benzol,  and  naphtha- 
line,   under    controlled    pres- 
sures, boiling  points  of,  with 
special  reference  to  thermome- 
try, 237. 
Bidens  inermis,  278. 
Bismuth  in  the  sun,  18. 
Blake    microphone   contact,    experi- 
ments on  the,  228. 
description  of  apparatus,  229. 
results  of  experiments,  236. 
Botany,  American,  contributions  to, 

223,  249. 
Bowlesia  palmata,    Ruiz   &    Pavon, 

274. 
Bradley,  Charles  Smith,  death  of,  315. 

notice  of,  317. 
Breweria  rotundifolia,  281. 
Brodisea  Hendersoni,  266. 
/3-Brom-S-sulphopyromucate,     baric, 
196. 


390 


INDEX. 


/3-Brom-S-sulphopvromucate,    calcic, 
197. 
plumbic,  198. 
potassic,  198. 
/3-Brom-S-suIphopyromucic  acid,  196. 
action  of  bromine,  199. 
nitric  acid,  200. 
Brongniartia    minutifolia,    Watson, 
271. 
var.  canescens,  271. 
Brown,    Samuel   Gilman,    death   of, 
315. 
notice  of,  348. 


C. 


Cadmium  in  the  sun,  17. 
Calandrinia  Howellii,  262. 
Calcic     /3-brom-fi-sulphopyromucate, 
197. 
)3  -  sulpho  -  S  -  brompyromucate, 

208. 
j8-sulphopyromucate,  217. 
8-sulphopyromucate,  191. 
Calochortus  Howellii,  266. 

Madrensis,  283. 
Carbon  in  the  sun,  on  the  existence 
of,  10. 
apparatus  used,  10,  11. 
experiments,  12,  13. 
general  observations,  11. 
Caulanthus  Lemmoni,  261. 
Ceanothus  azureus,  Desf.,  270. 

var.(?)  parvifolius,  270. 
Cerastiuin  Madrense,  269. 
Cerium  in  the  sun,  17. 
Champia    parvula,    Harv.,    on    the 
structure    of    the    frond     in, 
111. 
diagram  of  a  longitudinal  section 

of  a  tip  of,  112. 
general  aspect,  111-113. 
literature  on  this  subject,   114— 

116. 
method    of    investigation,    113, 

114. 
note,  120. 
observations  on  the  apical  growth, 

116. 
results  of  investigation,  120. 
stain  employed,  114. 
Champia  salicornoides,  Harv.,  118, 

119. 
Chaplin,  Winfield  Scott,  election  of, 
308. 


Chaptalia  Seemannii,  Benth.  &  Hook., 

265. 
Cheiranthus  occidentalis,  261. 
Choisya,  HBK.,  224. 
Chylochladia   mediterranea,  J.  Ag , 
115. 

reflexa,  Harv.,  115. 
Clark,  Alvan,  death  of,  309,  315. 

notice  of,  315. 
Clarke,  Eliot  Channing,  election  of, 

308. 
Cneoridium,  Hook.,  223. 
Cologania  Pringlei,  271. 
Communications,  — 

Robert  Payne  Bigelow,  111. 

J.  C.  Burbank,  301. 

Arthur  M.  Comey,  20,  122. 

Josiah  Parsons  Cooke,  149,  182. 

W.  H.  Gleason,  237. 

Asa  Gray,  223. 

Henry  B.  Hill.  188. 

E.  L.  Holden,  14. 
S.  W.  Holman,  237. 

Oliver  Whipple  Huntington,  37. 
C.  C.  Hutchins,  1,  10,  14. 
C.  Loring  Jackson,  20,  138. 
William  W.  Jacques,  125. 
Arthur  W.  Palmer,  188. 
George  W.  Patterson,  Jr.,  228. 
Theodore     William     Richards, 

149,  177,  182. 
W.  C.  Sabine,  288,  299. 

F.  W.  Smith,  122. 

John    Trowbridge,    1,    10,    288, 

299. 
Sereno  Watson,  249. 
John  F.  AVing,  138. 
Copper,  atomic  weight  of,  further  in- 
vestigation on  the,  177. 
conclusions,  180. 
materials  used,  178. 
results:  German  copper,  179. 
Lake  Superior  copper,  180. 
Council,  Report  of  the,  315. 
Curtius,  Georg,  notice  of,  354. 


D. 

Dean,  John,  death  of,  315. 

notice  of,  319. 
Delphinium  viride,  268. 
Desmodium  Mexicanum,  271. 

Pringlei,  271. 
Dianiline  silicotetrafluoride,  26. 

properties,  26. 


INDEX. 


391 


/3y-Dibrom-S-sulphopyromucate, 

ai'gentic,  203. 

baric,  201. 

plumbic,  202. 

potassic,  203. 
^y-Dibroin-S-sulphopyromucic     acid, 
201. 

action  of  bromine,  201. 
of  nitric  acid,  205. 
aa-Dibromfurfuran-/3-sulphonate, 

baric,  210. 

potassic,  211. 
/38-Dibrompyromucic  acid,  action  of 
fuming  sulphuric  acid  upon, 
218. 
Didimethylamine   silicotetrafluoride, 
31. 

properties,  31. 
Dipyridine  silicotetrafluoride,  122. 
Disilicotetrafluoride,  trianiliue,  21. 

trichinoline,  30. 

tridimetbylamine,  32. 

tridimethylaniline,  30. 

tridiphenylamine,  28. 

trimonochloraniline,  28. 

trinitrosodimethylaniline,  122. 

triorthotoluidine,  27. 

triparatoluidine,  27. 

tripyridine,  123. 
Draba,  revision  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can species  of,  249. 
Draba  alpina,  Linn.,  257. 

asprella,  Greene,  257. 

aurea,  Vahl,  259. 

var.  stylosa,  Gray,  259. 

aureola,  Watson,  259. 

borealis,  DC,  260. 

brachyca-rpa,  Nutt.,  256. 

Breweri,  260. 

Caroliniana,  Walt.,  256. 

var.  micrantha,  Gray,  256. 

chrysantha,  Watson,  259. 

corrugata,  Watson,  259. 

crassifolia,  Graham,  257. 

cuneifolia,  Nutt.,  256. 

var.  integrifolia,  256. 

var.  platycarpa,  256. 

eurycarpa,  Gray,  258. 

Fladnizensis,  Wulf,  258. 

var.  corymbosa,  25S. 

glacialis,  Adams,  260. 

var.  pectinata,  260. 

hirta,  Linn.,  260. 

var.  arctica,  260. 

Howellii,  Watson,  257. 

hyperborea,  Desv.,  259. 


Draba  incana,  Linn.,  259. 

var.  arabisans,  260. 

Lemmoni,  Watson,  258. 

Mogollonica,  Greene,  256. 

montana,  Watson,  257. 

nemorosa,  Linn.,  257. 

nivalis,  Liljeblad,  258. 

var.  eloiigata,  258. 

ramosissima,  Desv.,  260. 

Sonorae,  Greene,  256. 

stenoloba,  Ledeb.,  257. 

streptocarpa,  Gray,  259. 

subsessilis,  255,  258. 

unilateralis,  Jones,  256. 

ventosa,  Gray,  258. 

verna,  Linn.,  255. 
Drabaea,  Lindl.,  257. 
Drabella,  DC.,  256. 


E. 


Eichler,  August  Wilhelm,  notice  of, 

355. 
Election  of  officers,  308. 
Elliott,  E.  B.,  death  of,  315. 
Epilobium  Madrense,  274. 
Eriocaulon  Pringlei,  283. 
Eriogonum  citharpeforrue,  266. 

pendulum,  265. 
Erophila,  Lindbl.,  255. 
Eryngium  Madrense,  274. 
Eulophus  tenuifolius,  276. 

ternatus,  276. 


Fellows  deceased,  — 

Charles  S.  Bradley,  315. 

Alvan  Clark,  309,  315. 

John  Dean,  315. 

Asa  Gray,  311,  315. 

Laurens  P.  Hickock,  315. 

Mark  Hopkins,  309,  315. 

Charles  E.  Ware,  309,  315. 
Fellows  elected,  — 

Winfield  Scott  Chaplin,  308. 

Eliot  Channing  Clarke,  308. 

Abbott   Lawrence    Rotch,    311, 
380. 

George    Fillmore    Swain,    311, 
380. 

Elihu  Thomson,  311,  380. 

Crawford  Howell  Toy,  312,  380. 
Fellows,  List  of.  381. 


392 


INDEX. 


Fellows,  Associate,  deceased,  — 

Spencer  F.  Baird,  310,  315. 

Samuel  G.  Brown,  315. 

E.  B.  Elliott,  315. 
Fellows,  Associate,  List  of,  384. 
Foreign      Honorary     Members     de- 
ceased, — 

Matthew  Arnold,  315. 

Gustav  Kirchhoff,  310,  315. 

Henry  Sumner  Maine,  315. 

Hugh  A.  J.  Munro,  310,  315. 

Balfour  Stewart,  315. 
Foreign  Honorary  Members,  List  of, 

386. 
Furfurine,  32. 


G. 


Gray,  Asa,  death  of,  311,  315. 

notice  of,  321. 
Guatemala,     descriptions     of     some 

plants   of,  283. 
Gymnolomia  triloba,  Gray,  287. 


H. 


Habenaria  Schaffneri,  283. 
Hartwrightia,  Gray,  264. 

Floridana,  Gray,  265. 
Helianthella  Madrensis,  278. 
Helianthemum  Chihuahueiise,  268. 

Pringlei,  268. 
Heliconia  Choconiana,  284. 
Heterodraba,  256. 
Heterotoma  gibbosa,  280. 
Hibiscus  spiralis,  Cav.?,  269. 
Hickock,  Laurens  Perseus,  death  of, 
315. 

notice  of,  343. 
Hopkins,  Mark,  death  of,  309,  315. 

notice  of,  344. 
Hosackia  Chihuahuana,  270. 
Hydrogen  and  oxygen,  the  relative 
values  of  the  atomic  weights 
of,  149. 

introduction,  149. 

previous  work,  153. 

apparatus  for  preparing  hydro- 
gen, 165. 
for  weighing  hydrogen,  158. 

atomic  weight  of  oxygen,  173. 

combustion  apparatus,  162. 

complete  analysis  of  water,  175. 

table  of  final  results,  173. 


Hydrogen    and    oxygen,    additional 
note  on  the  atomic  weights  of, 
182. 
amount  to  be  added  to  correct 

error,  184. 
method  used  in  finding  correc- 
tion, 182. 
Hymenothrix  glandulosa,  278. 


Ipomcea  leptosiphon,  280. 

Madrensis,  281. 
Ivesia  Shockleyi,  263. 


J  uncus  Oreganus,  267. 


K. 


Kirchhoff,  Gustav  Robert,  death  of, 
310,  315. 
notice  of,  370. 


Lathyrus  cinctus,  263. 

palustris,  Linn.,  263. 

var.  (?)  graminifolius,  263. 
Lead  in  the  sun,  17. 
Lepachys  Mexicana,  277. 
Lesquerella  (Vesicaria),  revision  of, 

249. 
Lesquerella,  249,  251. 

alpina,  251. 

var.  intermedia,  251. 

angustifolia,  253. 

arctica,  254. 

var.  Purshii,  254. 

argentea,  252. 

argyrea,  254. 

Arizonica,  251,  254. 

auriculata,  250. 

Berlandieri,  252. 


cmerea,  252, 


too. 


densiflora,  251. 
Douglasii,  252,  255. 
Engelmanni,  254. 
Fendleri,  254. 
globosa,  252. 
Gordoni,  253. 


INDEX. 


393 


Lesquerella  Gordoni,  var.  sessilis,  253. 

gracilis,  253. 

var.  sessilis,  253. 

grandiflora,  250. 

Kingii,  251. 

lasiocarpa,  251. 

Lescurii,  250. 

Liudheimeri,  253. 

Ludoviciana,  252. 

var.  arenosa,  252. 

montana,  251. 

Monte vidensis,  251. 

Nuttallii,  252. 

occidentalis,  251. 

pallida,  253. 

Palmeri,  252,  255. 

purpurea,  253. 

recurvata,  253. 

repanda,  252. 

Schaffneri,  254. 

Wardii,  252,  255. 
Leucsena  Greggii,  272. 
Light,   ultra  violet,  wave-lengths  of 
metallic  spectra  in  the,  288. 

selective    absorption    of    metals 
for,  299. 
Linum  Pringlei,  269. 
Lithium  in  the  sun,  18. 
Lomentaria  Baileyana,  118,  119. 

Coulteri,  119. 

kaliformis,  114,  115,  118. 
Louteridium,  283. 

Donnell-Smithii,  284. 
Lupinus  montanus,  HBK.,  270. 

var.  glabrior,  270. 


M. 

Maine,  Henry  James  Sumner,  death 
of,  315. 
notice  of,  356. 
Malvastrurn  jacens,  Watson,  269. 
Maxillaria  Yzabalana,  286. 
Metals,   selective   absorption   of,  for 

ultra  violet  light,  299. 
Meteorites,  catalogue  of  all  recorded, 
with  a  description  of  the  speci- 
mens in  the  Harvard  College 
collection,  including  the  cabi- 
net of  the  late  J.   Lawrence 
Smith,  37. 
alphabetical  index,  103. 
description   of    arrangement    of 

catalogue,  38. 
list  of  illustrations,  40. 


Mexican  plants,  some  new  species  of, 
chiefly  of  Mr.  C.  G.  Pringle's 
collection  in  the  mountains  of 
Chihuahua,  in  1887,  268. 

Microstylis  crispata,  Reich,  f.  ?,  282. 
Pringlei,  282. 

Molybdenum  in  the  sun,  17. 

Munro,  Hugh  A.  J.,  death  of,  310, 
315. 
notice  of,  365. 


N. 


Napthaline,  239,  244,  246. 
Napthaline,  benzophenone,  and  ben- 
zol under  controlled  pressures, 
boiling  points  of,  with  special 
reference  to  thermometry,  237, 

air  thermometer,  240. 

boiling  point  apparatus,  242. 

instrumental  errors,  244. 

preparation  of  substances,  244. 

pressure  regulator,  243. 

results,  with   deduced  formulae 
and  tables,  245-247. 

summary  of  results  of  investiga- 
tion, 239. 


O. 

Oxygen  in  the  sun,  1. 

apparatus  used,  3. 

bright  lines  in   the  solar  spec- 
trum, 8. 

method  of  working,  4. 

previous  investigations,  2. 

table  of  wave-lengths,  5,  6. 

test  of  the  existence  of,  7,  8. 
Oxygen  and  hydrogen,  the  relative 
values  of  the  atomic  weights 
of,  149. 

additional  note  on,  182. 


P. 

Parabromaniline,  28. 
Pectis  aquatica,  279. 
Pentstemon  Pringlei,  281. 

Shockleyi,  265. 
Phellodendron.  223. 
Photography  of  the  least  refrangible 

portion  of  the  solar  spectrum, 

301. 


394 


INDEX. 


Pithecolobium  Palmeri,  Hemsl.,  272. 

var.  recurvum,  272. 

Plants,  Mexican,  some  new  species  of, 

chiefly  of  Mr.  C.  G.  Pringle's 

collection  in  the  mountains  of 

Chihuahua,  in  1887,  268. 

Plants  of  Guatemala,  descriptions  of 

some,  283. 
Plants  of  the  United  States, some  new 
species  of,  with   revisions  of 
Lesquerella    (Vesicaria)    and 
of  the  North  American  species 
of  Draba,  249. 
Platinum,  on  the  existence  of  certain 
elements,    together    with    the 
discovery  of,  in  the  sun,  14. 
apparatus  used,  14. 
method  of  working,  15. 
results  of  experiments  :  — 
bismuth,  18. 
cadmium,  17. 

cerium,  molybdenum,   urani- 
um, and  vanadium,  17. 
lead,  17 
lithium,  18. 
platinum,  19. 
potassium,  18. 
silver,  18. 
tin,  18. 
Pleurothallis  Blaisdellii,  284. 
Biigbami,  285. 
Choconiana,  285. 
minutiflora,  280. 
Plumbic  B-  brorn  -  8  -sulphopyromu- 
cate,  198. 
/3y-dibrom-5-sulphopyromucate, 

202. 
B  -  sulpho  -  S  -  brompyromucate, 

209. 
S-sulphopyromucate,  191. 
Polemonium  pauciflorum,  280. 
Polypetalous  genera  and  orders,  notes 


upon  some, 


99;- 


Potassic  aa  -  dibromf  urf  uran  -  B  -  sul- 
phonate,  211. 
/3y-dibrom-S-sulphopyromucate, 

203. 
8  -  sulpho  -  S  -  brompyromucate, 

210. 
/3-sulphopyromucate,  217. 
S-sulphopyromucate,  192. 
Potassium  in  the  sun,  18. 
Potentilla  Pringlei,  272. 
Prionosciadium,  275. 
Madrense,  275. 
Mexicanum,  275. 


Prionosciadium  Pringlei,  276. 

Priva  Orizabae,  282. 

Proceedings,  305. 

Ptelea,  224. 

Pyromucic  acids,  on  substituted,  188. 

Pyrus  occidentalis,  263. 


R. 


Report  of  the  Council,  315. 

Rotala  Mexicana,  Cham.  &  Schlecht., 

273. 
Rotch,  Abbott  Lawrence,  election  of, 

311. 
Rutacese,  223. 


S. 


Sabazia  glabra,  277. 
Sanvitalia  tenuis,  277. 
Saxifraga  occidentalis,  264. 
Scaphyglottis  longicaulis,  286. 
Schkuhria  Pringlei,  278. 
Sedum  Chihuahuense,  273. 

Madrense,  273. 

Pringlei,  273. 

puberulum,  273. 
Senecio  Chihuahuensis,  280. 

umbraculifera,  279. 
Sicyos  minimus,  274. 
Sidlacea  Hendersoni,  262. 
Siegesbeckia  orientalis,  Linn.,  277. 
Silene  Luisana,  261. 

Pringlei,  269. 
Silicon,  fluoride  of,  the  action  of,  on 
organic  bases,  20. 

on  aniline,  products  of,  21. 

on  other  bases,  27. 

constitution  of  the  silicotetraflu- 
orides,  32. 
Silicotetrafluoride,  dianiline,  26. 

didimethylamine,  31. 

dipyridine,  122. 
Silicotetrafluorides,    constitution    of 

the,  32. 
Silicotetrafluorides  of  certain  bases, 

122. 
Silver  in  the  sun,  18. 
Sodic  S-sulphopyromucate,  192. 
Spectra,  metallic,  wave-lengths  of,  in 
the  ultra  violet,  288. 

apparatus,  292. 

conclusions,  297. 


INDEX. 


305 


Spectra,  metallic,  wave  lengths  of, 

conditions  for  accuracy  of  meas- 
urement, "289. 

effect  of  change  of  temperature 
of  source  of  light  on  constancy 
of  position  of  metallic  lines, 
294. 

objects  of  the  present  investiga- 
tion, 291. 

results,  295. 

table,  296. 
Spectrum,  solar,  photography  of  the 
least    refrangible    portion    of 
the,  301. 
Stevia  Pringlei,  276. 
Stewart,  Balfour,  death  of,  315. 

notice  of,  375. 
Studer,  Bernhard,  death  of,  305. 

notice  of,  377. 
/3  Sulpho-S-brompyromucate, 

argentic,  209. 

baric,  207. 

acid  baric,  208. 

calcic,  208. 

plumbic,  209. 

potassic,  210. 
/3-Sulpho-S-brompyromucic  acid,  206. 

action  of  bromine,  210. 

of  nitric  acid,  214. 
Sulphofumarate,  argentic,  212. 

baric,  213. 
8-Sulphopyromucamide,  193. 
/3-Sulphopyromucate,  baric,  215. 

acid  baric,  216. 

calcic,  217. 

potassic,  217. 
S-Sulphopvromucate,  argentic,  191. 

baric,*"  189. 

acid  baric,  190. 

calcic,  191. 

plumbic,  191. 

potassic,  192. 

acid  potassic,  192. 

sodic,  192. 

acid  sodic,  193. 
/3-Sulphopyromucic  acid,  214. 

action  of  bromine,  218. 
S-Sulphopyromucic  acid,  188. 

action  of  bromine,  194. 

of  nitric  acid,  194. 

Sulphopyromucic  acids,  on,  188. 

theoretical  considerations,  220. 
Sulphuric  acid,  fuming,  action  of, 

upon  /3S-dibrompyromucic  acid, 
218. 

upon  tribrompyromucic  acid,  220. 


Sun,  carbon  in  the,  on  the  existence 
of,  10. 
oxygen  in  the,  1. 
platinum  in  the,  on  the  existence 
of  certain  elements,   together 
with  the  discovery  of,  14. 
Swain,  George  Fillmore,  election  of, 
311. 


Tagetes  Pringlei,  279. 
Telephone  circuits,  an  empirical  rule 
for  constructing,  125. 
experiments,  method  of,  125. 

results  of,  128. 
tables,  120,  127,  129,  130-134. 
Tetrabromdinitrobenzol,  146. 
Thalictrum  grandifolium,  267. 
pinnatum,  267. 
Wrightii,  Gray,  268. 
Thermometry,  boiling  points  of  naph- 
thaline, benzophenone,and  ben- 
zol under  controlled  pressures, 
with  special  reference  to,  237. 
Thomson,  Elihu,  election  of,  311. 
Tilloea  viridis,  272. 
Tillandsia  Wilsoni,  266. 
Tin  in  the  sun,  18. 
Toy,  Crawford  Howell,  election  of, 

312. 
Triamidotrinitrobenzol,  142. 

properties,  143. 
Trianilidotrinitrobenzol,  145. 

properties,  146. 
Trianiline  disilicotetrafluoride,  21. 

properties,  23. 
Tribromaniline,  symmetrical,  28. 
Tribrompyromucic    acid,    action    of 
fuming  sulphuric  acid  upon, 
220. 
Tribromtrinitrobenzol,  on,  138-148. 

properties,  140. 
Trichinoline  disilicotetrafluoride,  30. 

properties,  30. 
Tridimethvlamine      disilicotetrafluo- 
ride,  32. 
properties,  32. 
Tridimethylaniline     disilicotetrafluo- 
ride, 30. 
properties,  30. 
Tridiphenylamine      disilicotetrafluo- 
ride, 28. 
properties,  29. 
Trifolium  Howellii,  262. 


396 


INDEX. 


Trimonochloraniline  disilicotetrafluo- 

ride,  28. 
Trinitrosodimethylaniline    disilicote- 

trafluoride,  122. 
Triorthotoluidine       disilicotetrafluo- 

ride,  27. 
properties,  27. 
Triparatoluidiue  disilicotetrafluoride, 

27. 
Tripyridine  disilicotetrafluoride,  123. 

u. 

Cranium  in  the  sun,  17. 

V. 

Vanadium  in  the  sun,  17. 
Veronica  Mexicana,  281. 


Vesicaria,  249. 

Violet,  ultra,  wave-lengths  of  metallic 
spectra  in  the,  288. 


Vitacese,  227. 


W. 

Ware,  Charles  Eliot,  death  of,  309, 

315. 
notice  of,  346. 
Wave-lengths  of  metallic  spectra  in 

the  ultra  violet  light,  288. 


X. 


Xanthoxylum,  225. 


MBL  WHOI   LIBRAKV 


UH       1A6 


Z  3  (oX-